20 Hours of Paraprofessional Development - IU29 Guidelines

IU29 Guidelines for Annual Paraprofessional 20 Hours of Training

It is the responsibility of each instructional paraprofessional or personal care assistant to acquire 20 hours of training each school year. The 20 hours must be related to his/her position and must be completed in order for the paraprofessional to remain highly qualified to continue his/her current job assignment. The Intermediate Unit offers a number of training opportunities in the summer and throughout the school year.

All in-service/professional development hours must have pre-approval and final approval before hours will be credited. (Exceptions Include: CPR First Aid Training, In-Service, and Para Modules)

Steps to request pre-approval for 20 Hours of Professional Development:

Go to: https://tinyurl.com/20HRrequestform

Fill out the request form. After you submit the pre-approval request, it will go to the appropriate departments to start the approval process. The process will be:

1. Fill out the request form.
2. Email the flyer to Abra if the training is NOT associated with the IU or STC.

• If the request has been denied, you will receive an email stating that it was denied and why.
• If the request has been approved, you will receive an email stating, “needs action.” Meaning you need to complete the training.
• If the request has been returned for “more information needed,” you can edit your request and re-submit. (DO NOT submit another request! ONLY edit the current request!)

3. Once the request has been approved, (needs action), you will complete the requested training.
4. After you complete the training, please click on the "Task Complete" button at the bottom of the request page and then email a copy of your completed certificate to schua@iu29.org or send it through office mail to Abra - SP ED 2nd Fl.
   • If the IU or STC facilitates the training, you will not have to submit the certificate because we will already have the certificate or attendance log.
5. Once your certificate is received and verified the hours were completed, you will receive a COMPLETED approval email and the hours will be deducted from the total hours still needed.

**If the training requested is not affiliated with Schuylkill IU29 or Schuylkill Technology Center, please email a copy of the training flyer to schua@iu29.org after submitting your request. (Your request will NOT be processed until we receive the training flyer.)

The number of professional development hours required is dependent on the hire date of that year. Below is a chart to guide you on how many hours will be required to complete. 

The month of hire & required training hours:
August - 20 Hours
September - 18 Hours
October - 16 Hours
November - 14 Hours
December - 12 Hours
January - 10 Hours
February - 8 Hours
March - 6 Hours
April - 4 Hours
May - 2 Hours
June - 0 Hours

In summary, Intermediate Unit 29 embraces the Department of Education's requirements to ensure that all people who work with young children/students with special needs have the necessary training to competently perform their job responsibilities. IU29 instructional paraprofessionals and personal care assistants are encouraged to contact their program supervisors for any questions that they may have regarding their requirement for annual training. Remember, it is the responsibility of the paraprofessional to acquire 20 hours of related annual training to remain qualified to perform their job as a paraprofessional instructional aide.