Seattle teachers suspend strike, school starts on Wednesday
SEATTLE - Seattle Public Schools teachers voted Tuesday to suspend their strike after the district and striking teachers reached a tentative agreement a day earlier.
School will start for students and staff on Wednesday, Sept. 14, a week after teachers with Seattle Education Association voted to strike.
The first day of school will not be an early release day, according to the district. Next Wednesday, Sept. 21, will begin the 75-minute early release schedule.
"We came together and showed our strength on the picket lines and in our community, and now the membership has made our voices heard that we're ready to get back to our students. 78% of the members voted and 57% approved a motion to suspend our strike. We should be incredibly proud of what we accomplished together. We won a great tentative agreement and started an important conversation with our community about supporting our students," SEA said in a statement.
The tentative agreement, which is embargoed until it's ratified by the SEA and SPS, is for a "three-year contract with Special Education ratios maintained and improved in areas, adding baseline mental health staffing in all schools, and raises above IPD every year."
What you need to know for back-to-school from the district:
- Student meals at school will be available. Menus will vary from school to school for the first week. Read more about student meals.
- Transportation is available for students who are eligible for transportation services. Families should have received their route information. Please keep in mind during the start of school, families may experience some delays as traffic may increase in some areas. Read more about transportation services, including Orca cards for students and walk/bike to school resources.
- Five (5) days will need to be made up during this school year. Students are required to attend 180 days of school. SEA and SPS negotiate and select the dates together. Once agreed on, we will send the updated 2022-23 school year dates and post them to our website. View the current school calendar.
- You can find additional information on the SPS Back-to-School Checklist webpage.
"We know this has been a challenging week for our community, especially families. We are happy to have reached an agreement and ready to start the school year," the district wrote on its website.
The first day of school in Seattle was supposed to be Sep. 7.
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PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- No school for 3rd day in a row as bargaining continues between Seattle Public Schools, teachers union
- First day of school canceled for Seattle Public Schools as teachers vote to authorize strike
- Union teachers at Seattle Public Schools vote on day-one strike
- Students consider public transportation as Seattle Public Schools sorts out bus services
Last week, SEA said 6,000 people, or 95% of educators, voted to authorize the strike.
Those teachers will vote on the tentative contract at a later date. Neither the district nor the union said when that date would be.