A Descriptive Portrait of the Paraeducator Workforce in Washington State

Abstract

Paraeducators are critically important members of school communities, but there is little statewide research on the characteristics of paraeducators. We therefore use over 25 years of longitudinal data from Washington state to provide a descriptive portrait of the paraeducator workforce. Paraeducators are more racially and ethnically diverse than special education teachers, particularly in the last decade, and tend to be less experienced. Their full-time salaries are about half of the average for special education teachers. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, paraeducator attrition rates from the state's workforce have increased dramatically over time; for example, the paraeducator attrition rate after the 2021–2022 school year (23%) was over twice as high as the that in the 2008–2009 school year (8%). These findings have implications for how policymakers and school leaders should approach decision-making related to the paraeducator workforce, as well as how researchers might approach further research with this group of educators.