Seattle teachers, district reach deal to delay start of in-person classes to late March

Seattle Public Schools and the city’s teachers’ union announced Tuesday that they’ve reached an agreement to delay the return of in-person classes to late March.

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This came in the wake of confusion brought on by robocalls and videos shared with parents this week, welcoming preschool and pre-K-12 Special Education Intensive Pathways students back into classrooms. That was despite a vote last week by the teachers’ union not to return to classes on the previously scheduled March 8 start date.

Now, the union and the district have agreed to instead push the return of Intensive Service Pathways and preschool students to late March, as announced in a joint statement on Tuesday.

On March 22, Intensive Service Pathways and preschool staff will reenter buildings “to receive health and safety training, set up classrooms, and prepare for students.” Qualifying students will then return the following Monday, March 29.

Negotiations over the return of kindergarten and first grade students will continue in the meantime.

The new agreement was largely driven by a meeting with the Washington Dept. of Labor and Industries and an independent HVAC contractor, where they “reviewed the readiness” of numerous Seattle school facilities.

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“While this was not a required reopening step, it was an important one to help ensure staff and families are confident in the district’s adherence to Washington State Labor & Industries, Washington State DOH, Public Health – Seattle & King County, and federal CDC guidance and recommendations,” Tuesday’s joint statement read.

Although no major issues were identified in the L&I walkthrough, SPS and the union “agreed that school staff could benefit from additional time to prepare to offer the safest, most equitable in-person learning environments.”

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