Our Bargaining Proposals
Bargaining is our opportunity to use our strength and unity to win more of what our students and schools need. Our proposals below reflect what educators see as the solutions that would improve learning outcomes by centering students and focusing resources on needed learning and supports. These are concepts, not intended to be contract language but intended to guide conversation.
Our considerations
For each of these proposals, the SEA bargaining team is considering them against the backdrop of what SPS can afford, how SEA’s contract compares with others in the area, and, for compensation, how it compares with the cost of living in King County.
Our narrow focus
Members identified significantly more areas for improvement than we have proposals. We are strategically focused on the most widely and deeply felt challenges and those that SPS has the capacity to address.
Our approach
SEA wants to partner with SPS to find creative solutions that improve student outcomes and meet student and educator needs. We hope for this bargaining to be more of a conversation centered on our students, but the district must be willing to share in this approach.
Our path to a great contract
Every bargain involves a back-and-forth and we advance our interests by showing how our proposed changes are backed by unity and action, both as a union and with community supporters. Do your part – take a minute to share your experience of why these proposals matter to you, your students, or your family.
Our 2026 SEA Bargaining Proposals – Summary
Support effective teaching and learning, safe learning spaces, and strong student outcomes.
- Educators need to be able to focus our time on students. One way we can do that that costs the district nothing is protecting our planning and early-release Wednesday times.
- Reasonable class sizes are critical to student success. SEA’s contract includes overage pay as an incentive for the district to keep class sizes a reasonable size but we don’t want that pay – we want classes that give us the ability to connect with students and help them succeed. We need to create a true cap, beyond which the district must add staff or reduce the class size to ensure students have the opportunity to learn.
- Students need not just reasonable class sizes but also access to adequate physical, social, behavioral and emotional supports to succeed. Whether we’re psychologists, nurses, audiologists, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, counselors, or social workers, we need to encourage the district to maintain reasonable caseloads and create economic incentives for them by ensuring overage pay.
- Special Education students have a civil right to a high-quality education that meets their individual education plan (IEP). As we increase inclusion for students with IEPs in general education, we need to ensure co-teaching models are effective and co-teachers have an opportunity to collaborate and help all students succeed. Additionally, we need a plan for vacancies and leaves to ensure students with IEPs have teachers with a Special Education endorsement, and scheduling that prioritizes daily contact betweensecondary Special Education teachersand students on their caseloads.
- ICE agents are making students, families, and staff feel unsafe in and around our buildings and SPS must take every action possible to protect against ICE action on campus. SEA proposes declaring that the building and grounds of SPS schools are sanctuary spaces and that all staff be fully trained on how to respond should ICE invade our schools.
- Safety means both protecting our campuses and protecting our students’ privacy. We propose codifying where SPS can and can’t put surveillance cameras.
Address affordability, the high cost of living in the Seattle metro area, and health insurance costs.
- SPS’ ability to recruit and retain dedicated, experienced educators has a huge impact on students’ learning and success. SPS must offer competitive wages that ensure a stable, high-quality staff.
- Educators should be able to live where we work, keep up with rising costs of living, and be able to support our families regardless of which SPS job we do. We are proposing higher percentage raises for Office Professionals and Paraprofessionals.
- Many SPS employees cannot afford the cost of health insurance, copays, co-insurance, and other out-of-pocket expenses. The cost of our insurance is determined by the State Employee Benefits Board, but the district can help out by providing a VEBA benefit.
Increase professional development that supports improvements in teaching and learning.
- Paraprofessionals and Office Professionals receive minimal, if any, training before beginning work. For both Office Professionals and Paraprofessionals, we propose that SPS develop a training plan for each position and that staff be trained during early-release days or days leading up to the school year. New hires will have two days of training before beginning work.
- We are proposing extending the paraprofessional work year from 203 to 205 days with the two additional days for training and collaboration to ensure we can effectively support our students.
Our full conceptual proposals:
