Teaching deal halts strike, eases pressure on teaching staff

San Diego teachers canceled a planned districtwide one-day strike Thursday after the district agreed to a new contract that commits to increased investment in special education staffing and services. The pause matters because the share of students with Individualized Education Programs has risen from 13% to 18%, a change teachers said was straining classroom supports and teaching capacity.

Teaching and teaching staff supports

The contract addresses long-standing complaints about overcrowded special education classes, inadequate student services and lack of assistance for classroom teachers. It adds planning time specifically for special education teachers and includes stipends for oversized classes. The agreement also creates education funds to reimburse costs for teachers who earn special education credentials and aims to retain education specialists by offering better pay.

Contract provisions and pay timeline

Among the provisions are additional student support services, LGBTQ protections, and five days of non-classroom time for education specialists to focus on case management, complete assessments and work with families. The district also pledged to maintain full health benefits for employees, spouses and dependents.

There is a pay component to the deal, but the raise will not take effect until a state funding issue is resolved. The district has pledged to increase wages by 2. 5% for the next two years once state education funding is restored, and to apply raises retroactively when that happens. If state funds remain deferred, the pay increases will remain on hold.

What happens next for schools

The new contract adds intervention counselors to support social and emotional needs for all students and promises stronger supports tied to legally binding Individualized Education Programs. District leaders have been lobbying state lawmakers to increase special education funding and to restore a deferred payment of $5. 6 billion that is currently withheld; the district estimates that the deferred payment would shortchange it by about $85 million if not restored.

The one-day strike plan accelerated negotiations over the special education demands and led to the agreement. The district is described in the deal as one of the largest in the state, serving about 95, 000 students. The last teacher strike in the district took place in 1996, when teachers walked out for a week over pay and school decision-making.

• Key takeaways: the contract expands special education staffing, adds planning time, and defers pay raises until state funding is resolved.

Analysts and district officials framed the agreement as stabilizing the educator workforce while prioritizing supports for students with special needs. The immediate forward marker to watch is the status of the state funding decision: if the deferred funds are restored, the agreed 2. 5% wage increases for each of the next two years will be applied and retroactively paid; if the deferred funds remain, the raises and other budget-dependent measures will remain conditional. The outcome of that funding question will shape retention and hiring efforts for education specialists and classroom teachers moving forward.