SPS and SEA 2022-25 Contract

Seattle School Board approved three-year collective bargaining agreement with educators’ union 

The agreement was presented in the School Board agenda documents for the Sept. 28, 2022 meeting.  

Full agreement document: 2022-25 Approved CBA for SPS and SEA

Contract Summary

The Seattle School Board has approved the 2022-25 collective bargaining agreement negotiated between Seattle Education Association (SEA) and Seattle Public Schools (SPS).  

“We have been consistent in articulating our focus on student outcomes,” said Dr. Brent Jones, SPS superintendent. “This agreement supports the initial steps we’re making toward a more inclusive environment for all students, especially those receiving special education services. It provides support to our educators as they make changes to their instructional practices.” 

The agreement includes agreements with the SEA Certificated Non-Supervisory Employees, the Paraprofessional Staff, and the Seattle Association of Educational Office Personnel (SAEOP). The agreements were ratified by SEA members on Sept. 19. 

“We believe this agreement represents our district values and beliefs,” said Dr. Sarah Pritchett, Interim Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, in presenting the agreement information. “It centers on supporting students by providing the best possible working conditions for our educators.” 

Financial Impact 

The total cost of the agreement is $231,183,529. The estimated impact over the next three years is: 

• For 2022-23, the net cost increase above the previously identified funds is $12,526,380 to the General Fund. 
• The net cost increase to the general funds in year 2 will be an additional $33,521,531, and the net cost increase to general funds in year 3 will be an additional $48,021,836. 

Budget development for the second and third year of the contract will consider the cost of the agreement. Budget development begins in October for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. 

The Seattle School Board will receive a briefing on the budget implications for years 2 and year 3 in a Work Session as part of their regular meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 12. 

Collective Bargaining Agreement Highlights: 

Meaningful wage increases 

• A 7% raise in salary including IPD (the cost-of-living increase) for all 5,586 SEA represented educators and staff in the first year, followed by at least a 4% raise in 2023-24 and a guarantee of at least a 3% raise in 2024-25. 
• One-time incentive of $1,500 in the 2022-23 school year for all 1,700 SAEOP (316) and Paraprofessional (1,384) classified staff  

Additional staff positions to support students, educators, and schools 

• Adds mental health supports for secondary students with an additional 0.5 FTE social worker at comprehensive K-8, middle, and high schools this school year 
• Adds five certificated nurses in 2023-24 
• Supports workload relief and additional support by lowering the counselor-to-student ratio at our highest need secondary schools, from one counselor for every 375 students to one counselor for every 350 students 
• Supports workload relief by lowering the staff-to-student ratio for speech language specialists to one specialist for every 46 students this year and then to one specialist for every 44 students the following two years (currently at one for every 47 students) 
• Adds an additional Racial Equity Advancement Specialist position in 2023-24 school year to support school-based race and equity teams 

Incentives for continued learning 

• Adds a one-time incentive payment for teachers earning or holding an English Language or Dual Language endorsements within the life of the contract 
• Increases clock hour training incentive bonuses for paraeducators  
• Adds one additional day of district-directed professional development and training 

Additional school resources 

• Adds funding for the extra time building based office professionals support the operation of the school building  
• Provides a $50,000 one-time library fund to support our highest-needs schools  
• Adds dedicated library funding equivalent to $9 per student at each school to purchase culturally responsive library materials and collections 
• Adds access to additional paid extra time up to $2,000 for each building-based family support worker to work with and support students and families each year for the life of the contract 
• Continues a Building Safety Team stipend of $2,000 per year for each school building 

Other systemic changes 

• Adds mediation services available to staff to resolve disputes prior to continuing in a formal grievance process 
• Provides pay for all substitute educators for mandatory safety training as well as de-escalation training in addition to access to all other district training and professional development 
• Adds staffing to Resource services starting in the 2022-23 school year, in order to support the elimination of satellite and continuum designations by the 2024-25 school year 
• Merges access services, for students with moderate to intensive needs, with Social Emotional Learning services in 2023-24 for a new service called Extended Resource  
• Moves students receiving Extended Resource instruction, including instruction to develop social/emotional skills and social understanding, to general education classrooms for a majority of their time with a full range of needed reports 
• Guarantees students receiving special education services have access to the general education teachers’ curricular materials and instruction 
• Provides professional development for all 5,000+ educators to support inclusive instructional practices in serving students’ individual learning needs. 
• Provides flexible staffing to allow school-level teams to determine how to best use staff to service student needs 
• Adds central office supports for scheduling to maximize inclusion in general education classes to the greatest extent possible for all students   
• Recommits to a Joint Special Education Taskforce with members from Seattle Education Association, Special Education central office staff, and family representatives to plan for the transition to more inclusive practices throughout the system, including development of a workload calculator to support individual student needs while attending to the workload considerations for educators 
• Requires IEP teams to include a department specialist or supervisor when movement of a student to another school is under consideration 
• Creates a Joint Taskforce for Multilingual Learning and Dual Language Immersion to improve inclusionary services, service delivery, and equitable access