Paraprofessional Staffing in Pennsylvania
FocusedEDU places instructional paraprofessionals, personal care assistants, 1:1 aides, and classroom aides in Pennsylvania districts, charters, and Intermediate Units. Every para is screened against the 22 Pa. Code § 14.105 qualification standard, cleared under Acts 34, 151, and 114, paid weekly, and available temp-to-perm at no cost to your school.
- 95%
- Day-to-day fill rate at Odyssey Public Charter School, on the weekly-pay model our paras work under
- +40%
- Improvement over the school's previous staffing provider
- 120+
- Roles filled at Odyssey, including paraprofessionals and 1:1 aides
- $0
- Fee to hire a FocusedEDU para as your permanent employee
Roles we help fill
- Instructional paraprofessionals
- Personal care assistants
- 1:1 aides
- Classroom aides
- Autistic support aides
- Behavior support aides
- Substitute paraprofessionals
What Pennsylvania schools need from a paraprofessional partner
In Pennsylvania special education, the paraprofessional is often the adult the IEP actually names. A 1:1 aide written into a student's plan, a personal care assistant supporting medical equipment and daily living skills, the second and third adults in an autistic support or life skills classroom — when any of them is absent, a required service is missed, a teacher is pulled from instruction to cover, or a classroom slips out of the ratio its program was built on.
Pennsylvania also expects more of these roles than many buyers realize. Chapter 14 sets a qualification standard for instructional paraprofessionals and an annual training requirement for both instructional paras and personal care assistants, on top of the three clearances every school employee carries. A partner has to deliver people who meet the standard on day one and keep showing up through February.
How FocusedEDU staffs Pennsylvania paraprofessionals
Our paras are paid weekly, every Friday, by direct deposit or Cash App, and they pick up and swap shifts in a mobile app instead of waiting on a 5 a.m. phone call. That is why the pool stays active in February, not just September. Our para screen probes what predicts whether an assignment holds: real de-escalation experience — what the candidate actually did the last time a student escalated; honest comfort with personal-care duties, asked directly; familiarity with IEP data collection; and a reliability history we verify with prior schools, because on a 1:1 assignment the para's absence is the crisis.
We are a Pennsylvania firm, headquartered in Wayne, with a screening standard built by our founder, Robert Flom, a former K-12 teacher who worked alongside paras daily. We work with one client per region, so the aides we recruit in your area are never offered to the district or charter down the road. Our automated credentialing tracks every clearance and expiration and cuts typical time-to-hire roughly in half. And every placement is temp-to-perm at no cost.
For the certified teachers those paras work for, see special education staffing in Pennsylvania; for substitutes, see substitute teacher staffing in Pennsylvania; for every other role, see Pennsylvania K-12 staffing.
Pennsylvania paraprofessional requirements
Pennsylvania instructional paraprofessionals who work with students with disabilities must meet one of three standards under 22 Pa. Code § 14.105: at least two years of postsecondary study, an associate degree or higher, or a rigorous standard of quality demonstrated on a state or local assessment. They must also complete 20 hours of staff development every school year.
The regulation defines the role precisely. An instructional paraprofessional "works under the direction of a certificated staff member to support and assist in providing instructional programs and services to children with disabilities," and that support "includes one-on-one or group review of material taught by certificated staff, classroom management and implementation of positive behavior support plans," in a special education class, a regular education class, or another setting the IEP specifies (source: 22 Pa. Code § 14.105(a)).
Personal care assistants
A personal care assistant "provides one-to-one support and assistance to a student, including support and assistance in the use of medical equipment," along with activities of daily living and monitoring health and behavior. A personal care assistant may support more than one student, "but not at the same time," and must show evidence of 20 hours of assignment-related staff development each school year (source: 22 Pa. Code § 14.105(a)(4)).
Title I paraprofessionals
Paraprofessionals who provide instructional support in a Title I schoolwide program school, or who are paid with Title I funds in a targeted assistance school, must also meet the federal standard: a secondary school diploma or its equivalent, plus two years of study at an institution of higher education, an associate's or higher degree, or a formal state or local academic assessment of their ability to assist in reading, writing, and mathematics. The federal rule does not cover individuals whose duties are only non-instructional, such as "providing personal care services" (source: 34 CFR 200.58, eCFR).
Act 34, Act 151, and Act 114 clearances
PDE requires prospective employees of public and private schools and Intermediate Units — and "independent contractors and their employees" — to provide a federal criminal history record, a PA State Police report, and a child abuse report that "cannot be more than five (5) years old at the time of hire" (source: PDE, Background Checks). Our credentialing system tracks all three for every para and flags each one before it ages out.
Instructional paraprofessional, personal care assistant, or 1:1 aide
The title on the requisition decides the qualification standard. An instructional paraprofessional supports instruction and must meet the Chapter 14 education standard. A personal care assistant supports one student at a time with care, equipment, and daily living. A 1:1 aide is whichever of those roles a student's IEP assigns to that student alone.
We screen against the assignment, not the title family: a behavior-support 1:1 in an emotional support classroom and a personal care assistant in a life skills room are different jobs, and the wrong match surfaces in week two at the student's expense. Tell us what the IEP calls for and we recruit to it.
Proof: a 95% day-to-day fill rate on the model our paras work under
At Odyssey Public Charter School, a FocusedEDU partner since 2021, the weekly-pay, shift-app model our paraprofessionals work under sustains a 95% day-to-day fill rate — a 40%+ improvement over the school's previous provider — across a partnership that includes one-on-one aides and paraprofessionals.
Odyssey Public Charter School in Wilmington, Delaware serves more than 1,000 K-8 students drawn from five districts and protects a 12:1 student-teacher ratio. When the agencies already under contract could not fill its open roles, Odyssey brought in FocusedEDU in 2021. We have since made 120+ placements across 13+ role types — one-on-one aides, paraprofessionals, substitute and certified teachers, SLPs, OTs, PTs, psychologists, reading specialists, bus drivers, and support staff — and day-to-day coverage runs at a 95% fill rate, a 40%+ improvement over the previous provider. In Pennsylvania, First Philadelphia Public Charter School has partnered with us since 2021 for paraprofessionals, one-on-one aides, and certified special education teachers. Read the full Odyssey Public Charter School case study.
For paraprofessionals looking for work in Pennsylvania
Paraprofessionals who work with FocusedEDU in Pennsylvania are paid weekly, every Friday, by direct deposit or Cash App, and choose shifts in a mobile app. One application puts you in front of the partner schools we staff, and schools can hire you permanently with no conversion fee.
You will need a high school diploma plus one of the Chapter 14 routes — two years of college, an associate degree, or a passing assessment — and current Act 34, 151, and 114 clearances. We tell you which route fits your education and which documents to gather first. Browse current openings and apply on our candidates page.
Need paraprofessionals in Pennsylvania?
Start with a free 30-minute discovery call or send your openings by email. We map your 1:1, classroom, and personal care assignments first, then build a para pipeline for your buildings alone — one client per region, temp-to-perm at no cost.
Book a discovery call or send a staffing request — our team responds within 48 hours. See also paraprofessional staffing in New Jersey and paraprofessional staffing in Delaware, or go back to paraprofessional staffing for K-12 schools.
Documentation we coordinate for an approved start
The applicable checklist depends on the role, state, and your organization’s requirements.
- 22 Pa. Code § 14.105 qualification route documented: two years of postsecondary study, an associate degree, or a passing assessment
- High school diploma or equivalent on file for every para
- Act 34 Pennsylvania State Police criminal history report
- Act 151 Pennsylvania child abuse history clearance
- Act 114 FBI fingerprint-based criminal history report
- TB test and vaccination documentation
- Reference checks with prior schools, including attendance history
- De-escalation and personal-care screening matched to the assignment
“One of the key strengths of Focused Staffing Group is their responsiveness and flexibility. They have always been quick to respond to our staffing needs, often providing suitable candidates at short notice.”
How an engagement works
Free 30-minute discovery call
We map your para and aide openings building by building — 1:1 IEP assignments, classroom paras, personal care, and behavior support — and the qualifications and clearances each one requires.
We source, screen, and credential
Every candidate is interviewed by us, cleared, reference-checked with prior schools, and screened for de-escalation and personal-care comfort before their name reaches your desk.
You choose from a vetted shortlist
Your principals and case managers interview fully cleared candidates and decide who sits beside your students.
We stay through the placement
Weekly pay and a shift app keep your aides showing up. Hire any para permanently at no conversion fee.
Common questions.
What qualifications does a paraprofessional need in Pennsylvania?
Instructional paraprofessionals working with students with disabilities need at least two years of postsecondary study, an associate degree or higher, or a passing result on a state or local assessment under 22 Pa. Code § 14.105, plus 20 hours of staff development each school year and current Act 34, 151, and 114 clearances.
What is a personal care assistant in Pennsylvania special education?
A school employee who provides one-to-one support to a student, including help with medical equipment, activities of daily living, and monitoring health and behavior. A personal care assistant may support more than one student, but not at the same time, and completes 20 hours of assignment-related training each school year.
Do Title I paraprofessionals in Pennsylvania have extra requirements?
Yes. Under 34 CFR 200.58, paraprofessionals providing instructional support in Title I schoolwide programs or paid with Title I funds need a high school diploma plus two years of college, an associate degree, or a passing formal academic assessment. The federal rule excludes purely non-instructional roles such as personal care.
What clearances do paraprofessionals need in Pennsylvania?
Act 34 Pennsylvania State Police criminal history, Act 151 child abuse history, and Act 114 FBI fingerprint reports, each no more than five years old at the time of hire. PDE applies the requirement to independent contractors and their employees, so agency paras carry the same three reports.
How do FocusedEDU paras get paid, and why does it matter?
Weekly, every Friday, by direct deposit or Cash App, with a mobile app for picking up and swapping shifts. Reliable pay keeps the pool active — at Odyssey Public Charter School, the same model sustains a 95% day-to-day fill rate, 40% better than the previous provider.
Can we hire a FocusedEDU para permanently, and will you staff our neighbor?
Yes, at no cost — every placement is temp-to-perm with no conversion fee. And no, we work with one client per region, so the aides we recruit in your area are never offered to a competing school.
Need staffing support for hard-to-fill roles?
Contact Focused Staffing Group to discuss your current and upcoming needs — or plan ahead and build a stronger candidate pipeline before openings become emergencies.
Responsive · Compliance-minded · Focused on hard-to-fill roles