Paraprofessionals

Paraprofessionals are an integral part of the ECKCE workforce. We rely upon our paraprofessionals to work alongside the teacher to deliver supervised instruction and assistance to students as outlined within their individualized education plans (IEPs). The following are guidelines for paraprofessional expectations.

ECKCE Paraprofessionals:

●   Are employees of the ECKCE who function under the governance and direction of the Board Policies and Procedures.

●   Shall sign a work agreement that has been approved by the ECKCE Administration and the Board. The number of paras employed is determined by need and at the discretion of the ECKCE Administration in concert with the administrative team at each building.

●   Shall make an application through the ECKCE approved application sites. Positions will be advertised on these sites by building or district location as appropriate.

●   Shall be interviewed by the administration at each building in collaboration with the team with whom they will be assigned. Typically principals will make recommendations to the ECKCE Administration for hire.

●   Shall be assigned duties by the school team in conjunction with school administration and the ECKCE Administration. Should confusion arise as to the assigned duties, the ECKCE Administration will have the final authority.

●   Shall be placed on the ECKCE Board approved Para wage scale by the ECKCE Administration in accordance with experience, assignment and education.

●   Shall provide information and permission to complete a background check successfully.

●   Shall work on student contact days and any required inservice hours/days. Any additional assigned time must be approved by the ECKCE Administration prior to the assignment.

●   Must maintain confidentiality at all times. Paras may not discuss students by name in any context outside of the school environment and only with those who have cause to participate in those conversations.

●   Shall serve in the appointed capacity working with students with exceptionalities as defined by IDEA and Kansas statutes. Any deviation from this must be pre approved and documented through time and effort logs per federal and state requirements.

●   Shall be evaluated annually by the supervising teacher under the direction of building administration. This evaluation will be reviewed with the paraprofessional and copies given to the para, the principal and the ECKCE Administration by April 30. Recommendations for continued employment will be made at this time and if a recommendation for non-renewal of the agreement is necessary, the para will be notified by the ECKCE Administration after consulting with the principal. Continuation of employment is at the discretion of the ECKCE Administration.

●   Shall complete the requisite professional development hours as required by Kansas Statute. Paras are required to complete 20 inservice hours per year for the first three years of employment and 10 hours each subsequent year. These hours consist of ECKCE inservices, on-the-job training provided by the supervising teacher, building inservices and additional training opportunities such as CPR/First Aid, Crisis Prevention Intervention, etc. All sponsored inservice hours completed on workdays are compensated at the employee's regular rate of pay. If additional inservice hours to complete the 20 hour requirement are not completed during school hours, the para may choose to complete these on their own time but will not be compensated for the time spent completing them. All inservice hours, including those done as a group, must be documented on an Inservice Log form and turned in upon completion to the Paraprofessional Clerk at the ECKCE office. If the requisite number of inservice hours are not completed by March 31 of that school year, the employee may be terminated at the discretion of the ECKCE Administration for failure to fulfill the terms of the work agreement.

Paras with less than three years of experience must complete 20 hours of in-service per school year, or a minimum of 2 hours per month for each month of employment. Paras with more than three years of verified experience must complete 10 hours of in-service per school year. Fewer hours may lead to probation and/or potential dismissal. It is the joint responsibility of the supervising teacher and the para to make certain in-service hours are completed. It is recommended that in-service be completed, documented and on file in the ECKCE Administrative office by March 31. Forms for documenting in-service will be provided by the ECKCE Administrative office. Paras are encouraged to keep a copy of the in-service log for their records; a master file for each para is kept at the ECKCE Administrative office.

Each local education agency must adopt and have on file a plan for staff development for special education instructional paras. Each local education agency must prepare and maintain documentation of the annual staff development provided for paras for a period of at least 3 years.

ECKCE staff development program will include the following:

1. Orientation annually to ensure compliance with confidentiality and other requirements, maximum of four hours (Note: beginning of year in-services in which special education issues are on the agenda is considered orientation.); and

2. Staff development activities specifically related to the type of program in which the para is employed.

3. Staff development activities for paras will include various levels of staff development opportunities:  knowledge/learning: in-service, workshop, study group, observation, child-specific presentations; application/skill development: guided practice, implementing strategies/ideas, peer coaching; and impact: documenting the effect of implementation with students. 

The paraprofessional evaluation tool can be accessed here.

Paras will be evaluated by their supervising teacher, in collaboration with their building principal when appropriate, no later than March 31 using the evaluation form found on the ECKCE website. The evaluation must be reviewed with the para. Both teacher and para should sign the document and return to the ECKCE office to be placed in the para’s employment file. The paraprofessional may respond to the evaluation on the form itself, or they may attach their own response at any time. Paras receiving an unsatisfactory evaluation in one or more areas may be subject to corrective action, up to and including termination at the discretion of the principal and the ECKCE Administration.

Paraprofessionals (paras) are employed by the interlocal with an agreement at will. This is an agreement, not a contract, and is traditionally set up for one school year. This agreement also means that the para or the interlocal may terminate the employment at any point during the school year.

It is recommended that teachers, working with their building principal, notify the ECKCE Administration in March their recommendations regarding para employment for the following school year. Effort will be made to accommodate these requests. Exceptions will be based on current caseload and the individual needs of students being served in each program. If greater student need exists in another classroom, paras may be transferred or re-assigned at the discretion of the ECKCE Administration.

All paraprofessionals working for ECKCE are public employees and therefore subject to KPERS enrollment, as long as they are working more than 21 hours per week, or 630 hours per year (.6). KPERS contributions will be withheld and applied to KPERS retirement accordingly. Paraprofessionals working less than .6 will not be KPERS eligible.

A high school diploma or GED and experience with children is preferred. “Every Child Succeeds Act” requires instructional paraprofessionals in Title 1 buildings meet one of three criteria: have 48 hours of college; have an Associate’s Degree or higher; or pass a test that assesses the ability to assist in instructing reading, writing and mathematics.

All paraprofessionals will use the Time Management System (TMS) for clocking in/out.

The clock-in time should not be more than 8 minutes prior to their assigned clock-in time unless prior arrangements are made. Likewise, paras should not clock out more than 8 minutes after their assigned clock out time. Paras are assigned a 30-minute lunch period and must clock out and back in for lunch.

The Interlocal shall allow   10   days of leave each year for full time paraprofessionals, accumulative to    50      days. During the first year of employment, the paraeducator shall be granted ten (10) days of discretionary leave to be allocated in five (5) day increments the first day of each semester. Paid leave may not be used within the first 30 days of employment. Leave days should not be used in the first or last two weeks of school or to extend holiday breaks by more than 3 days. Any leave requests of multiple days must be approved by the ECKCE Administration; extenuating circumstances will be considered.  Part time employees, those working 21 hours a week or less (.6), are not granted paid leave or holiday pay. Those working between .6 and full time will be granted leave on a pro-rated basis.  In the event of serious illness of the employee or family member during the first semester, as substantiated by doctor’s notes, the ECKCE Administration shall have the authority to advance the second semester days for use by the employee. When leave for any semester is exhausted any additional missed days will be without pay. When a paraprofessional has accrued 15 days (105 hours) of leave time, they may choose to sell those days back to the interlocal at a rate of $30 per day at years’ end. The paraprofessional must notify the interlocal of their intention to do so by April 1; if notification is not made, the days will continue to accrue up to 50 days. All accrued leave will be forfeited upon employee involuntary termination. Should the employee leave employment through KPERS retirement or death, the employee or their beneficiary will receive compensation for any accrued leave at the rate of $30 per day, pursuant to meeting the required minimum 15 days.

The Interlocal shall also pay for six specified holidays as follows; Labor Day, Thanksgiving (2 days), Christmas (2 days)  and  New Year's Day,  during the contracted year.

In the event of inclement weather school closure, paraprofessionals will be compensated for the first two school days of every year in addition to their discretionary leave. Consideration for additional compensation in the event of excessive closure days will be made by the board when necessary.

Transfer to another program may be requested, in writing, by completing a Transfer Request Form, and submitting to the ECKCE Administration. Teacher, para, and building administrators must be in agreement to the change of placement prior to the transfer.