Turnover Patterns in the Paraeducator Workforce in Washington State

Abstract

Paraeducators are an essential and growing part of the special education workforce, but concerningly, research indicates that paraeducators leave the workforce at higher rates than special educators. Not much is known about the demographic and professional profiles of paraeducators who leave the workforce, nor patterns that make turnover more or less likely. Such patterns have key implications for attracting and retaining a stable and diverse workforce. We leverage longitudinal administrative data from Washington state to track paraeducators across years they are employed in the workforce, using a series of survival analyses and regressions predicting time to and probability of workforce exit. Our findings indicate that paraeducators tend to leave early and often—especially men—but salary could be a malleable factor to increase the stability of the workforce, particularly for those most vulnerable to exit. These findings have implications for the stability, diversity, and effectiveness of the workforce.