Teaching Profession

Tentative Contract Deal Reached in Seattle; School to Resume This Week

By Stephen Sawchuk — September 16, 2015 1 min read
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UPDATED

The Seattle Education Association said on its Facebook page Sept. 15 that it had reached a tentative agreement with the district, raising hopes for the end of a strike that is currently in its fifth day.

The deal was reached after an all-night bargaining session. Details were not immediately available, but check out Education Week‘s earlier story to learn the major contours of the disagreements. (And watch this page for updates as we learn more.)

Seattle reporter Kyle Stokes notes that, if the deal holds up, it might be Thursday until students return to classes.

UPDATE, 9/16: Now that the union’s governing body has approved the deal, we now know the major pieces of the compact, though without full contract language we don’t know all of the implementation details. (Rank-and-file teachers must still vote on the deal this weekend.)


  • Wages. Teachers will receive raises of 9.5 percent over three years, plus state cost-of-living adjustments.
  • Testing. New policies will reduce non-mandatory testing (it’s unclear how much the teachers’ union will be able to block or stymie district-supported tests).
  • Teacher evaluation. The deal ends a policy of using test scores to trigger reviews of certain teachers.
  • Equity. Schools will receive training on ending disproportionate discipline policies, and “equity teams” will be created at 30 of the district’s 97 schools.
  • School day. Teachers will be compensated for additional work.
  • Recess. All elementary students will receive 30 minutes of recess daily.

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A version of this news article first appeared in the Teacher Beat blog.