The Chief of Staff oversees internal agency operations and external agency programs, 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 Chief of Staff:

• Directs the administration of agency operations.
• Manages the development, administration, and evaluation of agency policies and procedures that affect the operations of the agency.
• Oversees the Financial Resources, Government Relations, Communications, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Agency Support divisions.
• Develops, implements, and oversees key projects and programs on behalf of the Superintendent.

The Chief of Staff serves as a member of the OSPI Executive Leadership Team.

The Financial Resources division is responsible for the distribution of funding: agency budgeting; research on school funding; and collecting data on enrollment, personnel, and financial information. 

Financial Resources:

• Distributes billions of dollars in state and federal funding to school districts.
• Manages state and federal grants to districts and other organizations.
• Coordinates planning, construction, and renovation of school buildings.
• Serves as the agency's budget office, including providing fiscal services to every section within OSPI.
• Coordinates audit management and resolution.
• Coordinates student transportation funding and requirements and traffic safety education.
• Assists school districts and other organizations in providing high-quality nutrition programs.

The Chief Financial Officer serves as a member of the OSPI Executive Leadership Team.

The Communications department serves as the chief liaison between the agency and the media, ensures the Superintendent's priorities are reflected in agency messaging, and oversees the agency's brand.

Communications:

• Strategizes how to communicate information effectively to school districts, the media, and the public.
• Coordinates interviews and speeches given by the Superintendent and other members of the Executive Leadership Team.
• Serves as the agency's spokespeople and coordinates press responses in consultation with content experts.
• Oversees and maintains the agency’s website and social media channels.
• Creates communication materials and plans for internal and external audiences.

The Director of Communications 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 Native Education division provides assistance to school districts in meeting the educational needs of American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) students. ONE serves as a liaison between OSPI and school districts, tribal governments, State-Tribal Education Compact schools (STECs), tribal schools, Native communities, parent/guardians of Native children, and other groups and individuals.

The Native Education division: 

• Facilitates the inclusion of native language programs in school districts' curricula.
• Coordinates technical assistance for public schools that serve American Indian and Alaska Native students.
• Facilitates the development and implementation of the Since Time Immemorial and other curricula including instructional materials in native languages, culture and history, and the concept of tribal sovereignty pursuant to RCW 28A.320.170.
• Provides assistance to districts in the acquisition of funding to develop curricula and instructional materials in conjunction with native language practitioners and tribal elders.

The Special Programs and Federal Accountability division helps school districts, through state and federal programs, raise the academic achievement of students who face disability, poverty, second language acquisition, learning difficulty, and mobility, among other challenges. 

Special Programs and Federal Accountability oversees:

• Every Student Succeeds Act
• Consolidated Program Review
• Highly Capable Program (HCP)
• Learning Assistance Program (LAP)
• Elementary and Secondary Education Act / No Child Left Behind
• Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP)
• School Library Media Programs and Teacher-Librarians
• Title I