Special Education Caseload overages are impacting us all.
Many SDEA educators are already over caseload, and according to Sections 29.1.2. and 29.1.3. in the contract, once an educator is over caseload for 10 consecutive workdays, the District must increase Special Education staffing allocation at their site.
👍The good news: SDEA members bargained a pathway to a free Special Education credential into the SERP agreement last year, as a way to fill SpEd vacancies and offset retirements. Today, the District communicated to SDEA leaders that almost all SpEd vacancies have been filled by SDEA members taking advantage of this pathway program. This is exactly why SDEA members bargained this agreement, and why members on the bargaining team have proposed this as a permanent pathway in Article 29 of our next contract. Offering free credentials for members interested in filling critical Special Education vacancies is a win for everyone involved!
👎The bad news: It’s too soon to tell if filling these vacancies will be enough to balance caseloads, and the District has yet to settle the last two years of caseload grievances.
District-wide caseload grievances: An annual tradition that impacts everyone.
When the contract is violated, SDEA members can file grievances – individually, in groups, or as an entire union. For the past six years SDEA members have filed union-wide grievances to get stipends for educators over caseload. However, the grievances from 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years still remain unsettled.
Keep in mind that grievances are only one way to solve problems, and that the muscle behind them is always organizing. SDEA members have already been organizing in support of Special Education staffing: Rallying at a January SDUSD Board Meeting alongside CSEA colleagues to highlight the urgency of Special Education staffing, and forming delegations to meet with individual board members to personally share how this staffing crisis impacts students. The District had another chance to address staffing at the bargaining table, when SDEA members on the bargaining team proposed changes to Article 29 to ensure more concrete, enforceable caseload limits. The District has yet to respond to that proposal and has continued to offer lowball settlements to grievances that are now years old. It’s clear that grievances and negotiations aren’t enough: Educators are still overloaded, students are still underserved, and real solutions are long overdue. We can’t wait!
SDEA members proved last year that we are ready to show up and fight. Now it’s time to STAY ready.
We’ve been gradually escalating our actions, and we need to be prepared for something bigger.
Special Education staffing was identified as a key part of our We Can’t Wait campaign for our next contract: It’s the very top issue on our platform, and educators and community members have been showing up strong in support! While Special Education staffing isn’t the only urgent issue facing educators right now, it is one where SDEA members have already exhausted their other options. If caseload language continues to be violated, the next step in escalation will be strike readiness. Just before the school year started, SDEA site and program representatives spent the day at Union Academy learning about strike readiness and seeing examples of effective strategies. They started conversations that will continue with you at union meetings in September. Make sure you attend your union meetings to find out more and get involved!
Not sure who your union rep is? Reach out to the SDEA office!
What if I am over caseload?
If you are already over caseload, it is a good idea to start keeping records of your weekly caseloads. This documentation will be important to get settlements for existing or future grievances, especially if there is a discrepancy in the District data.
Ed. Specialists over caseload should download or print weekly caseload reports directly from PowerSchool IEP (PSIEP) and ensure there is a date and timestamp on each report. In addition to that, download or print your caseload report on any day your caseload increases or decreases.
