Update

Bargaining Session Date: 11/19/25

6th Negotiation Session for the 25-26 School Year.

Current Scope of Negotiations: SPED & Class Size plus one additional article per side.

SVUSD proposed a MOU to extend extra support in K Autism classes through the 26/27 school year. The intent is to collect data and see if this is a cost saving measure that can meet the needs of our students.

SVEA continues to ask for fair compensation and reasonable class size and workload for our members to provide excellent education for our students. Our proposals consistently address extra pay for extra work, equity across school sites and clearly defining expectations, especially for our newer bargaining unit members in the Student Support Services arena.

Class size - SVEA continues to insist that EdCode, previous agreements and common sense dictate that class size averages should be calculated per site. We also think combination classes should be limited and if there are sites where class sizes cannot be honored, compensation for teachers is a must.

Caseload - Our language is based on EdCode, up and coming legislation and credentialing requirements to assign caseloads to Education Specialists based on the work they are trained to do. SVUSD's SPED delivery model does not follow any of the above guidelines, and has outdated job descriptions that are up to 20+ years old, inaccurate and is creating a burden that no teacher should have to bear. While SVUSD did make small concessions toward education Specialists' caseloads, there is still a lot of work to do. SVUSD has suggested that they also need to work with SVEA to create appropriate job descriptions, which is a step in the right direction, but a long and arduous task.

Traveling for Assessment and Home Hospital Support - SVEA previously asked for clarity and equity in compensation for support providers who are working outside of their regular assignment to provide services for students with IEPs who are on Home Hospital Instruction or placements outside of the district. At this stage proposal exchanges are focusing on clarifying language and making sure Ts are crossed and Is are dotted.

Admin Designee Compensation - We had a critical discussion regarding the difference between paying for extra expertise versus paying for extra time. SVEA stands firmly on the side of getting paid for doing work outside of the scope of your job description, regardless of when that work takes place. We reminded the district that bargaining unit members often take on the role of Admin Designee to maintain compliance when administrators are not present at IEP meetings. Our ongoing theme reigns true here... bargaining unit members are at capacity and if we are asked to take on additional duties, we should be compensated.

Multi Prep Stipend - We were hoping to hold off on this one until the contract opens fully, but the district presented information that they wanted to change the interpretation of current language. We went ahead and presented language that is fully inclusive and values all courses taught at the secondary level. We are assessing the cost of this proposal, and are gathering data on how many teachers might be affected with the proposed changes.

SVUSD still reminds us that they are submitting a qualified budget with deficit spending that will destroy their financial solvency within 3 years. It is true that SVUSD is in declining enrollment and needs to make cuts to unnecessary expenditures. SVEA continues to reiterate that those cuts should happen as far away from the classroom as necessary. We are seeing a pattern of our proposals being "costed out," often with little to no effort to meet in the middle. It is increasingly important that we continue to let SVUSD know what are priorities are and to keep cuts far from the classrooms.

Kinder Autism support - SVUSD has offered to extend support for Kinder Mod/Severe Autism classes. Their MOU covers a 2:1 staffing ratio (not including the Education Specialist or any 1:1 IAs) that was originally set to expire 11/21/25 and extends the support through the end of the 26-27 school year. This offer comes with a promise to work with SVEA to gather data to see if these changes can save money on more costly 1:1 aides and non public school placements in the long term. It is important to note that SVUSD has chosen to present this support as an MOU. SVUSD shared that they are using the bargaining table as a communication tool to be transparent about changes they are making. The district is not required to negotiate spending above and beyond the contract, and the additional staff hired will be classified. Additionally, we appreciate the targeted support for this grade level and program, however, SVEA's goal is to make permanent, systemic changes that serve all of our students with year over year stability.

• A subcommittee of the Bargaining Team will meet on December 5 to discuss merging the SVEA and SVPSA contracts.
• The next Bargaining Session is scheduled for December 10.
• Thank you for showing your support with your yellow shirts, and hanging your protected posters.