Los Angeles Unified School District and United Teachers Los Angeles announced Tuesday that a tentative agreement had been reached on a new contract for teachers in the nation’s second-largest school system.
According to announcements from both the district and the union, the agreement would provide:
-
A 21% total teacher wage increase for 2022-2025.
-
A class size reduction of two students per class across all grade levels.
-
First-ever enforceable special education caseload caps and reductions.
-
An investment in creating, expanding and maintaining green spaces, including for outdoor class space and programs.
-
An additional counselor for college counseling in all high schools with 900 or more students.
-
Additional psychiatric social workers, pupil services and attendance counselors, academic counselors, and school psychologists.
-
Extra professional development on “Banked Time Tuesdays” every week in every school.
-
An additional $5,400 per year for dual language program teachers, including those teaching in American Sign Language.
-
An additional $1,000 per year for dual language program teachers providing content instruction in English.
The agreement also includes salary increases for school nurses, psychologists, pupil services and attendance counselors, audiologists, optometrists, social workers, and speech and language pathologists.
“This agreement with UTLA is a necessary step not only to make Los Angeles Unified the district of choice for families but also the district of choice for teachers and employees," Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho said in a statement. The agreement, he added, reflects the work of the district’s employees, improves the academic experience for students and raises compensation standards in Los Angeles and nationally.
The tentative agreement caps 11 months of bargaining and comes just weeks after UTLA joined school employees represented by Service Employees International Union Local 99 in a three-day, 60,000-member joint solidarity strike. A resulting agreement between the district and school employees has since been approved by SEIU members.
In UTLA’s statement, union President Cecily Myart-Cruz said, “With this tentative agreement, LAUSD now has an opportunity to become one of the most successful school districts in the country. We held the line during bargaining on a number of initiatives because educators are the experts on what has the ability to transform LAUSD into a more equitable environment that not only improves students’ learning, but also the quality of life for LA families.”
A ratification vote is expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks.
Dive Awards
