The Deputy Superintendent oversees a variety of divisions within the agency, supports the Superintendent to carry out his goals, and provides leadership and resources to support districts in helping all students develop skills necessary for their future.

The Deputy Superintendent:

• Represents the Superintendent in K–12 outreach efforts.
• Oversees the production and implementation of state and federal policy.
• Oversees the Assessment and Student Information division, which collects, analyzes, and reports information about Washington’s public school students and their learning.
• Oversees the Educator Growth and Development division as they work with districts to ensure access to high quality professional learning opportunities to support teachers, principals, and other school leaders throughout the career continuum.
• Oversees the Learning and Teaching division as they work to provide rigorous learning standards and support educators in teaching those standards effectively.
• Oversees the Special Education, Special Programs and Federal Accountability, System and School Improvement, and Student Engagement & Support divisions as they work to ensure an equitable and excellent learning opportunity for ALL of our state's students.

The Deputy Superintendent serves as a member of the OSPI Executive Leadership Team.

The Government Relations department directs the agency’s government relations activities at the state and federal levels. This includes establishing and implementing short-and long-term goals, objectives, policies, and operating procedures for government relations support.

Government Relations:

• Coordinates the implementation and accountability of legislative and policy initiatives.
• Leads the strategic planning for advancing priority legislative recommendations.
• Oversees and coordinates interactions with legislators; legislative staff; and other local, state, and federal officials.
• Manages the agency’s legislative clearinghouse, including bill tracking, bill analyses, and committee hearing tracking.

The Executive Director of Government Relations serves as a member of the OSPI Executive Leadership Team.

The Assessment and Student Information division produces and implements state and federally required tests and collects and reports information about Washington’s public school students.

Assessment and Student Information:

• Administers assessments in reading, mathematics, writing, and science in grades 3–8 and in high school.
• Monitors student progress toward meeting testing requirements for high school graduates.
• Coordinates the regular collection and reporting of student data from school districts.
• Disseminates formative assessments for teachers to use in the classroom for the purpose of monitoring instruction and improving learning.

The Center for the Improvement of Student Learning acts as the agency’s chief research office. In this capacity, they lead efforts to connect policymakers, schools, families, and communities with research and information about effective educational improvement strategies.

The Center for the Improvement of Student Learning: 

• Works in collaboration with staff at OSPI and external partners to identify both systemic changes and practical strategies to improve student learning through equitable opportunities and access to academic and non-academic supports.
• Leads the development of the Washington Integrated Student Supports Protocol and the implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support.
• Coordinates with internal and external partners to achieve equitable outcomes in student discipline related to race, ethnicity, disability, family income, housing instability, and other factors.
• Coordinates data governance within OSPI by overseeing the development and implementation of a K–12 education data system for financial, student, and educator data. 
• Maintains data systems to serve the needs of policymakers and education stakeholders including educators, families, school administrators, the Legislature, OSPI staff, and the public.
• Provides facilitation, research, policy, and data analyses for legislative workgroups.

The Human Resources department is responsible for leadership and oversight of human resources functions in support of OSPI as well as the State Board of Education, Professional Educator Standards Board, Paraeducator Board, Financial Education Public-Private Partnership, and Charter School Commission.

Human Resources:

• Serves as a strategic business partner in development and service delivery within the agency.
• Develops and implements agency human resource policies and procedures.
• Provides expert advice to managers and supervisors in the agency while ensuring accurate and consistent application of federal and state laws and agency policies.
• Oversees agency training plans for professional learning and development.
• Leads agency initiatives involving cultural competency, recruitment, and workplace flexibility.
• Monitors hiring and other personnel actions to ensure non-discrimination, equal opportunity, and ethical practices are maintained.

Learning and Teaching includes a broad spectrum of content areas and programs, including the arts, career and technical education, computer science, early learning, English language arts, environment and sustainability education, health and physical education, instructional materials, international education, mathematics, open education resources, science, sexual health education, social studies, and world languages. The division: 

• Leads the development, review, and revision of Washington's K–12 learning standards.
• Provides professional development and technical assistance in partnership with education leaders and regional and local stakeholders statewide to build a coherent and consistent system of support for implementation of state learning standards.
• Partners with other OSPI divisions and state/regional stakeholders to support integration and coordination of programs and activities, including the development of state formative assessment systems and implementation of OSPI-developed assessment in social studies, the arts, and health and fitness.
• Administers federal, state, and privately funded programs focused on improving widespread teaching and learning.

The Special Education Services division is responsible for ensuring the provision of special education and related services on behalf of more than 130,000 eligible students in Washington. 

Special Education Services:

• Provides technical assistance and professional development designed to support and facilitate special education program improvement efforts by disseminating evidence-based and promising practices for the development of academic, health, and post-school outcomes for students eligible under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
• Engages stakeholders involved in, or affected by, special education services and outcomes for students with disabilities to review, analyze, and plan for system improvements and celebrate successes.
• Provides general supervision of the provision of special education services through an integrated monitoring system, dispute resolution options, and coordinated data management efforts.
• Allocates federal special education funding and manages the supplemental Safety Net program for individual high need students and school districts that demonstrate a unique community impact in the area of special education.

The Student Engagement and Support division helps school districts prepare each student for post-secondary pathways, careers, and civic engagement by embracing an approach to education that encompasses the whole child. In doing so, the division works to ensure every child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. 

Student Engagement and Support:

• Administers state and federal grants and programs designed to remove barriers to learning, including those targeted to vulnerable students, such as children and youth in foster care or experiencing homelessness.
• Provides professional development and technical assistance in partnership with education leaders and regional and local stakeholders statewide to build and improve a whole child focus.
• Collaborates with other local, regional, state, and national organizations serving children and families to ensure all students have the support they need to succeed at school.
• Provides oversight, coordination, and support for learning options and school choice in Washington, including online learning and alternative education.