Top Takeaways
- Special education is now a central issue in negotiations with teachers across the state, including San Diego, San Francisco and West Contra Costa.
- This comes as special education staffing shortages reach “crisis” levels at the state and national levels.
- Negotiated agreements include provisions to recruit special education teachers or to retain current teachers with reduced caseloads or stipends.
When more than 90% of San Diego Unified School District teachers voted to authorize a strike, it wasn’t just about pay increases or health care benefits — it was about special education caseloads that some teachers say are pushing them out of the profession.
Salary and health care are still central at the bargaining table, but the working conditions of special education teachers have become a major point of friction in labor negotiations with teachers this school year. It was also a sticking point for high-profile teacher strikes in West Contra Costa and San Francisco.
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How the governor’s budget proposal addresses rising numbers of students in special education
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