In accordance with the Governor’s Proclamation 20-25, “Stay Home, Stay Healthy,” and to protect the health and safety of Washingtonians and our employees, at this time, there is restricted public access to the OSPI building. OSPI will continue serving the public via phone, email, and the website.
See OSPI’s COVID-19 guidance and resources for educators, students, and families.
OSPI is committed to providing ongoing guidance and resources as we experience this unprecedented situation together. The most current guidance and resources are provided below.
On March 12, 2021, Governor Inslee announced an executive order related to protecting the mental and behavioral health of children and youth in Washington (updated on March 26, 2021). The order requires all public K–12 schools in Washington to provide each student with the opportunity to learn in-person at their school, for no fewer than two days per week, by April 19, 2021.
On March 25, 2021, Governor Inslee announced that our state's physical distancing requirements within K–12 schools will be changed to follow the CDC guidance that was released on March 19. Our state’s guidance previously followed the CDC recommendation to maintain a minimum of 6 feet of distance between students.
The CDC guidance only recommends a reduction of distance between students. The guidance for distance between staff, as well as between staff and student(s), remains 6 feet. In addition, there are certain situations where 3 feet between students is not sufficient, like when students are eating and cannot wear masks.
For more information, please see:
As school buildings reopen, they must continue to follow all health and safety requirements:
Due to the impacts of COVID-19, the U.S. Department of Education issued a process for states to submit requests to waive some requirements for assessment and accountability in the 2020–21 school year. While some flexibility on requirements is being considered, the Department of Education is not inviting full waiver requests. OSPI's proposed student assessment plan for spring 2021 aims to drastically reduce testing burdens on students, families, schools, and school districts across Washington while also fulfilling the need to obtain precise, representative estimates of students’ academic proficiency levels.
We will test a statistically representative sample of approximately 50,000 students, rather than full-scale testing of all students who typically participate (700,000 students). Assessments would be in five grade levels, with only one subject per grade level.
OSPI will submit our waiver proposal to the U.S. Department of Education on March 23, 2021. Learn more about the proposal in a recorded webinar from March 17.
Updated 3/25/21: The guidance, Employer Health & Safety Requirements for School Scenarios, has been updated to align with the K–12 guidance (specifically around physical distancing requirements) released by the Department of Health.
On October 5, 2020, OSPI co-hosted a webinar with specialists from the Department of Labor & Industries and the Department of Health. The purpose of the webinar was to review the guidance related to employer health and safety requirements in K–12 school scenarios.
Find more guidance and resources for schools on the Department of Health's website.
On March 2, President Biden announced that he expects all K–12 school employees to receive at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine before the end of March. Information about what the directive means for school employees in Washington is included in a Q&A document.
School employees are encouraged to use the WA COVID Vaccine Finder to find available vaccine appointments at pharmacies or mass vaccination sites near them.
On January 29, Superintendent Reykdal and Kaiser Permanente announced "Get Ready," a large-scale school vaccination plan to equitably and safely vaccinate Washington educators and school staff when they become eligible under the state’s vaccination protocols. Information about the plan is available on the OSPI website. A questions and answers (Q&A) document will also be updated regularly to address questions as they come in.
As our state and nation continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington's schools are working closely with local health authorities to determine the right mode of instructional delivery for their community. Every week, each public school district, state-tribal education compact school, and charter school is required to submit data on their current reopening status to OSPI.
The data are posted to the OSPI website and updated weekly (each Wednesday) to reflect each district's current instructional delivery model, including which student groups they are serving through in-person learning. If you have questions about the data or need assistance navigating the data visualization, please email Achievement Data.
Working families will have increased need for child care and supervision during remote and hybrid learning. Schools are encouraged to communicate with families about their child care needs frequently, as it will likely fluctuate based on changes to school schedules and employment requirements. Districts may direct families needing child care to the Child Care Aware of Washington Family Center at 1-800-446-1114.
The capacity of child care and youth development programs to meet the needs of families will vary significantly from previous years and by community. School districts are encouraged to reach out to community child care and youth development programs to determine what is needed, prioritizing referrals to existing programs before standing up additional child care options. To connect with licensed child care providers in your area, contact Child Care Aware and visit School’s Out Washington’s Open Programs & School Age Childcare Map.
OSPI, together with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families; Child Care Aware; and School’s Out Washington, has produced a webcast called Beginning Child Care and Youth Development Partnerships for the 2020-21 School Year that provides guidance and examples that district may find helpful.
Additional resources for child care and youth development partnerships:
The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund, created through the CARES Act, will grant Washington state $216 million, of which $195 million will be provided to school districts as sub-award using the Title I allocation methodology.
Posted March 23, 2021: Comparison of Federal COVID-19 Relief Funding Sources and State Funding. This document details some of the key similarities and differences of the federal COVID-19 relief funding streams including statewide total amounts, period of availability, allocation methodology, accounting revenue codes, and required uses of funding. As a reminder, each of these federal funding streams needs specific authorization from the legislature via law or unanticipated receipts process before OSPI can make funds available to districts.
Posted March 12, 2021: Combined ESSER Allocations By School District Including ESSER III Estimates. This document shows the combined total of ESSER I, II, and III by school district. ESSER III amounts are estimates only and are subject to change. The timing of the availability of funds will be determined by the legislature.
Posted March 1, 2021: Total ESSER II Awards Including Amounts Currently Available to Districts. Please see the spreadsheet for the final allocation amounts.
Posted June 25, 2020: A detailed questions and answers (Q&A) document for school districts about the distribution of ESSER funds, allowable uses, requirements, and more. As districts receive their portion of ESSER funds, OSPI has four priorities that we expect districts will make priorities in their work, as well.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), Pub. L. No. 116-136 was signed into law on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act provides substantial relief to students and educators who have been profoundly affected by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). CARES Act funding for nationwide distribution to school districts was set at $13.5 billion.
In addition to providing funding, the CARES Act authorized the U.S. Department of Education to provide flexibility through waivers of specific requirements in K–12 education funding and programs in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. More information about these waivers is available in OSPI Bulletin 032-20, published April 15, 2020.
Posted July 1, 2020: The COVID-related expenditure tool is now available for ESSER I and ESSER II claims. In preparation for submitting claims for CARES Act funding disbursement, districts should follow the directions in the tool and submit their COVID-related expenditures since March 2020 using the applicable link:
The COVID-19 situation is considered a subsequent event for accounting purposes, which needs to be disclosed in the notes to the 2018–19 financial statements for school district audit reports that are being issued now. A subsequent event is a significant event that occurs after fiscal year end, but before the financial statements have been issued. The financial impacts may not be known at this time, but there are significant operational impacts and schools are operating in an environment that is vastly different than just a few months ago. OSPI has created a template for the note required to be added to the financial statement.
In addition, OSPI has prepared accounting guidelines to provide a framework through which districts can identify COVID-related expenditures. The guidelines also include a preview of the data reporting template for those expenditures. These expenditures will be reported through a supplemental reporting tool and will not be separately identified in each school district’s financial statement (F-196) this fall.
Posted June 25, 2020: OSPI is crafting guidance on how to quantify and report student FTE through a continuous learning or hybrid learning model for the 2020–21 school year. When the guidance is finalized, it will be posted to this section of the webpage.
Published May 4, 2020 is a high-level overview of the state budget with respect to basic education versus non-basic education funding sources. This document is for discussion purposes only, and is not intended to be legally binding. Questions on the included categories or characterizations should be directed to T.J. Kelly, Chief Financial Officer, at thomas.kelly@k12.wa.us or 360-725-6301.
The publications on Supporting Multilingual/English Learners and Supporting Migrant Students Under Title I, Part C are intended to provide school districts with guidance and strategies for supporting these students during school reopening. The publications were published on August 20, 2020.
*The information linked here is specific to the Class of 2020. However, much of the information is still relevant for the current senior class this fall. Updated guidance and resources for the Class of 2021 will come at a later date.
During the school building closures this fall, school districts should continue to work with students, their families, and their communities to ensure seniors remain on track to graduate. Published last spring, Bulletin 022-20 established options and flexibility for providing seniors with the assistance they need, including guidance on meeting credit requirements, assessment options, dual credit, special education services, alternative learning settings, and supporting their emotional well-being.
On April 29, 2020, OSPI published a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document about graduation pathways for the Class of 2020. An FAQ document covers questions and answers related to flexibility in graduation requirements for the Class of 2020, but may be partially relevant for the Class of 2021. It includes information about graduation pathways and pathways for students with disabilities.
More information about provision of special education services is included on OSPI’s COVID-19 Special Education Guidance webpage.
COVID-19 is not at all connected to race, ethnicity, or nationality. School staff should be mindful that bullying, intimidation, or harassment of students based on actual or perceived race, color, national origin, or disability (including the actual disability of being infected with COVID-19 or perception of being infected) may result in a violation of state and federal civil rights laws. School districts must take immediate and appropriate action to investigate what occurred when responding to reports of bullying or harassment. If parents and families believe their child has experienced bullying, harassment, or intimidation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, they should contact their school district’s designated civil rights compliance coordinator.
The U.S. Department of Education has also released guidance on addressing the risk of COVID-19 in schools while protecting the civil rights of students.
The K–12 Internet Access Program connects students in need to internet access at home with no cost to the student or their family. Through the program, students whose families are low-income and are not currently connected to the internet can get connected through the end of the 2020–21 school year for free.
Learn more about parents' rights to translation and interpretation services, and family access to remote or distance learning activities. In addition to technology access, multilingual families may also need navigation support with accessing child care, early learning programs, nutrition and financial assistance, and mental health and other health services.
Resources to Support Multilingual Families—English
Arabic | Chinese | Korean | Marshallese | Russian | Somalian | Spanish | Tagalog | Ukrainian | Vietnamese
Get step-by-step instructions on how to use 5 different teaching platforms.
Many students, educators, and their families may need additional support because of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The resources on this page are intended to support school districts, schools, students, parents, and families in recognizing and responding to signs of emotional and behavioral distress.
In response to school closures in spring 2020 due to COVID-19, OSPI content experts curated a selection of links to external organizations providing high-quality online educational materials – courses, lessons, videos, physical and outdoor activity suggestions, etc. Please note that in many cases, these resources are free to use online but are not openly licensed for wide scale reuse and adaptation. These resources were carefully chosen for their alignment to Washington State K–12 Learning Standards (or a recognized equivalent) and/or direct experience with effective implementation with students.
This publication is a companion resource to the OSPI’s prior Reopening Washington Schools 2020 District Planning Guide, issued June 2020. The Family Engagement document provides guidance and strategies for building strong family, school, district, and community partnerships, and identifies resources to build and strengthen connections across these groups. You will find key questions, suggested actions, and resources for five categories of building successful Family engagement.