Program Staff Attorney Legal Services

Thurston County, WA - USA

Yearly Salary: $ 82892 - 97669

Posted on: Yesterday

Vacancies: 1 Vacancy

Job Summary

Description

WASHINGTON MANAGEMENT SERVICE

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Program Staff Attorney - Legal Services

(Multiple positions)

$82892 - $97669annually

Closes February 242026

The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is seeking to fill multiple Program Staff Attorney positions. These full-time permanent positions are based in Olympia Washington. These positions may be eligible for partial to near full-time telework. Telework is a combination of in-building and off-site days. During your initialtrainingperiod you will be required to be in the office 3 days a week.After youve completed your initial training you may have the option to work from home on a flexible telework schedule. While were happy to offer this balance of in-office connection and telework flexibility this isnt a fully remote position.We encourage interested candidates to visit the OSPI website to gain insight into our agency.

About OSPI and our initiatives

OSPI is the primary agency charged with overseeing public K12 education in Washington state. Working with the states 295 public school districts and 7 state-tribal education compact schools OSPI allocates funding and provides tools resources and technical assistance so every student in Washington is provided a high-quality public education.

At OSPI we recognize that our employees are the key to the success of the agency. We are committed to our work but value the balance with our personal lives. We demonstrate our commitment to employees by providing an environment that stimulates professional growth and values them for their expertise. OSPI is a great place to work and has several initiatives to help create a great working environment including:

We support a healthy work/life balance by offering flexible/alternative work schedules and mobile and telework options. (Depending on job duties and work location.)
We have an Infant at Work Program that is based on long-term values of newborns and infant-parent bonding. Eligible employees who are new parents or legal guardians can bring their infant (six weeks to six months) when returning to work. (Depending on job duties and work location.)
We value and are actively involved in promoting diversity equity and inclusion within OSPI by way of cross-divisional collaborative committee. The focus of the committee includes employee engagement and education; reinforcing OSPI values; and maximizing the value of diversity and identifying strategies for inclusion.

Vision Mission and Values
Vision: All students prepared for post-secondary pathways careers and civic engagement.

Mission: Transform K-12 education to a system that is centered on closing opportunity gaps and is characterized by high expectations for all students and educators. We achieve this by developing equity-based policies and supports that empower educators families and communities.

Values:

Ensuring Equity Collaboration and Service Achieving Excellence through Continuous Improvement Focus on the Whole Child

Equity

Each student family and community possesses strengths and cultural knowledge that benefits their peers educators and schools. Ensuring educational equity:

Goes beyond equality; it requires education leaders to examine the ways current policies and practices result in disparate outcomes for our students of color students living in poverty students receiving special education and English Learner services students who identify as LGBTQ and highly mobile student populations.
Requires education leaders to develop an understanding of historical contexts; engage students families and community representatives as partners in decision-making; and actively dismantle systemic barriers replacing them with policies and practices that ensure all students have access to the instruction and support they need to succeed in our schools.

Position Overview:

This position will be an integral part of the Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) division which includes teams charged with externally facing work as well as teams performing internal operational tasks. Examples include agency and school district civil rights compliance fingerprinting Professional Practices internal records management Public Records Office agency internal policy development andethics opinions.

The Office of Legal Affairs Program Attorney acts as a generalist subject matter expert for specific agency projects departments or public interest initiatives focusing on legal compliance policy development and advocacy within that domain. They draft documents provide legal advice to staff support projects and legal compliance review and advise on agency administrative and enforcement efforts and ensure operational compliance with state and federal laws. The Program Attorney will also collaborate with agency legal counsel with the Office of the Attorney General and support litigation as directed. This position delivers up-to-date legal research guidance and direction that is dependable actionable proactive and timely for non-personnel related matters in OSPIs portfolio.

A strong candidate for this position is an attorney with a demonstrated commitment to K-12 public education civil rights and public service.

Key Responsibilities

Flexibly and timely performing various legal tasks at the direction of the Chief Legal and Civil Rights Officer.
Conducting in-depth legal research of relevant statutes regulations and comparable case law and preparing guidance memoranda or opinions to advise the operation of all agency programs and divisions suchequity and civil rights investigations Public Records Act compliance the Administrative Procedure Act and monitoring the conduct of certificated educators utilizing a variety of resources including Westlaw publications and internal databases.
Preparing memoranda verbally summarizing and presenting the cases and making recommendations for appropriate actions.
Helping draft and analyze sponsored or proposed legislation advising program staff on interpreting existing laws and assisting with the drafting of regulations to implement new programs and/or respond to changes to the law.
Responding to requests for legal perspective requiring the interpretation of law and regulation both state and Federal.
Collaborating with OSPIs legal counsel at the Office of the Attorney General (AGO) as directed. This may include drafting documents and conducting research in support of litigation.
Answering internal and external stakeholder questions by collecting analyzing and responding timely and in alignment with legal requirements and agency goals.
Providing research investigation drafting and review support regarding emerging and ongoing legal professional conduct public records and civil rights matters that affect OSPI and K12 education statewide.
Reviewing contracts in a timely and accurate manner.
Drafting letters and memoranda
Drafting and monitoring of compliance plans

Required Education Experience and Competencies.

Education: Juris Doctor (JD) degree from an ABA-accredited law school.
Licensure:Active license to practice law. (WA law licensure and litigation experience preferred but not required.)
Experience:13 years of experience in administrative law regulatory compliance or civil litigation preferred though entry-level candidates with strong internships may be considered.
Technical Skills: Proficiency in MS Office Suite and legal research databases (e.g. LexisNexis Westlaw).
Demonstrated experiencemaintaining highest standard of personal professional and ethical conduct; and supports the agencys goals for workforce diversity.
Demonstrated experience to readily adjust to changing work environments demonstrating skills like flexibility problem-solving and effective communication.

Compensation
The annual compensation for the position is$82892 - $97669per year and depends upon experience educational background and qualifications. Geographic differentials may be applied based on work location of successful candidate. Washington State offers a generous benefit package including health dental and life insurance retirement and an optional deferred compensation program. Please visitHealth Care Authorityfor information regarding health benefits and theDepartment of Retirement Systemsfor retirement plan information. This is a Washington Management Position. This position is not represented by a bargaining unit.

Application Process

Those interested in this position must apply through. Applications must include the following documents in MSWord or PDF format:

A letter of interest specifically addressing the qualifications listed in this announcement;
A current résumé and;
A list of three or more professional references.

NOTE: Your resume and letter of interest must be attached to your application. Please confirm they are attached before you submit.

Please addressany questions to:

Sal Salazar Human Resources

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
600 Washington Street Southeast
Olympia Washington 98504-7200

:

Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may contact the Human Resources Office at or or e-mail.

New Jobs Alert Service

OSPI offers a subscription service which regularly notifies subscribers of new OSPI employment opportunities on . Subscribers are notified via text or email alert. If you are interested in this service then please subscribe at thislocation.

OSPI is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from job seekers who will contribute to our diversity. OSPI provides equal access to all programs and services without discrimination based on sex race creed religion color national origin age honorably discharged veteran or military status sexual orientation including gender expression or identity the presence of any sensory mental or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. If you would like please include your name and gender pronouns in your application to ensure we address you appropriately throughout the application process. Personsneeding accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may contact the human resource consultant listed in Application Process.

Required Experience:

Staff IC

DescriptionWASHINGTON MANAGEMENT SERVICEJOB ANNOUNCEMENTProgram Staff Attorney - Legal Services(Multiple positions)$82892 - $97669annuallyCloses February 242026The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is seeking to fill multiple Program Staff Attorney positions. The...