TEACHER TALKS: No Seattle Public Schools contract deal yet

Two nights after the Seattle Education Association – the union for Seattle Public Schools teachers and other educators – voted to authorize a possible strike, there’s no deal yet. In an update tonight, a union spokesperson says, ” The SEA bargaining team is continuing to bargain and working hard to reach an agreement to avoid a strike and clear the way for students to come back on time.” (That would be this Wednesday, September 2nd.) But just in case, the union update also announced that 100~ members will gather in the Central District’s Judkins Park to make signs and practice picket-line chants. The union says they’re continuing to push for “increasing Special Education supports, providing respectful pay, (and) easing the pressurization that large class sizes, high caseloads, and piled-on extra tasks have had on educators.”

HP August 28, 2026 (11:12 pm)

WA state constitution: “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders….” Our representatives closed the session in March and cut $90 million from the k-12 budget. That’s not paramount to me. Thank you to the union for looking out for the students.

ttt August 29, 2026 (10:14 am)

Reply

Agree. Wa state needs to fully fund education. Instead they cut from the budget. Puyallup school district teachers are also fighting for lower class sizes and lower special ed ratios and do not have a contract settled.

ShuffleRunner August 29, 2026 (3:57 pm)

Here’s a better breakdown of what is being negotiated
https://spsforkids.org

SPS Sped Parent August 29, 2026 (5:45 pm)

Reply

Thank you for the link. This is a terrible proposal (it feels terrible to even call it that) from the district and would be incredibly detrimental to every SPS student and staff member. From personal experience those 1:1s you get for high-needs kids are REALLY hit-or-miss. Some are great. Some are not that helpful as de-escalation or intervention when in an environment with other students. Counting on a “resource” that a child has to have really high support needs to even qualify for, which are a roll of the dice in the best of circumstances is NOT the way to manage special ed and puts a huge burden on classroom teachers, many of whom are under-resourced to properly meet IEP needs already under the current plan.

By law schools have to educate kids with special needs in the least restrictive environment possible, meaning they will continue to be educated and receive services in gen ed classrooms no matter how much you slash supports. Please don’t let the district take out their funding issues on the kids that need the support the most. They already fall short of funding properly accessible playground equipment and adaptations needed for disabled kids to participate in extracurricular activities. These kids get the short end of the stick CONSTANTLY. Thank you so much, SPS teachers, for seeing the kids the district wants to ignore, and fighting for their futures!
Jethro Marx August 29, 2026 (10:14 pm)

Reply

The linked content is AI slop and the scenarios portrayed are completely hypothetical.
Melissa Westbrook August 30, 2026 (7:24 am)

Reply

I would be careful of listening to an anonymous group that just popped up out of nowhere.

Red for Ed August 29, 2026 (10:10 pm)

Sad to see the district walk away from the table tonight and blame their shortcomings on the union. They want to make major cuts to special education even when there is federal and state requirements in place for IEPs and other supports. Sad they want to see increased classrooms up to 40 students in classrooms where there isn’t enough desks or physical space. Sad they want to have teachers spend more of their time away from students and spend more time with district pet projects and meetings. Sad they want to reduce special education paraprofessionals in the class and greatly reduce the ratios in the classroom, that could create dangerous situations for the students.