Los Angeles Times

A look at the deal

- — Sonali Kohli

The tentative pact tackles pay and other issues, but some matters were left for more study.

The Los Angeles Unified School District and the teachers union came to a tentative agreement Tuesday morning. Here are some of the elements included in the three-year contract, which union members were to vote on Tuesday afternoon:

TEACHER PAY

Teachers asked for a 6.5% raise.

They got 6% — 3% retroactiv­e to the 2017-18 school year and an additional 3% retroactiv­e to July 2018.

CLASS SIZES

The contract calls for schools to see a class size reduction of about four students in three years — though 90 high-needs schools will see classes drop by six students.

The contract eliminates a clause that currently allows the district to exceed the agreed-upon maximum class sizes.

The district would have until the 2022-23 school year to reach the agreed-upon class size averages and maximums.

STAFFING

Teachers also wanted more hiring, to build up support staff on campuses. The contract calls for the district to hire:

Enough nurses over the next three years to staff every school with a full-time nurse, five days a week. The district says it will hire 300 more nurses over the next two years.

Enough librarians to staff libraries on secondarys­chool campuses. The district says it will hire 82 teacher librarians over the next two years.

Enough counselors to bring the ratio closer to one counselor per 500 students at middle and high schools. Right now, there is one counselor for every 690 to 890 students, depending on the school. The district says it will hire 17 full-time counselors in the 2019-20 school year and an additional 60 in 2021-22.

CHARTER SCHOOLS

The union has been calling for a cap on charter schools, which cannot be negotiated as part of a labor contract. Members did gain some control over sharing campuses with charter schools:

At each school that shares a campus, the union will be able to appoint a “colocation coordinato­r” who will be invited to meetings and provide input in the process.

WORKPLACE ISSUES

The contract also would improve working conditions for specialedu­cation, early education and adult-education teachers. The union also made gains in areas that were not as much of a public focus during the strike. The district will:

Eliminate random student searches in 28 schools by 2020-21.

Assign a lawyer to help students and families with “immigratio­n-related concerns.”

Establish 30 campuses known as community schools, investing $350,000 in each over two years. Such schools are supposed to provide social services to students and family, rich academic programs that include the arts, and leadership roles for parents and teachers. Some issues yielded further study by task forces rather than promises.

The union initially asked for teacher control over testing. Instead, a joint union-district task force will recommend ways to “reduce the amount of district assessment­s by 50%.”

A task force will come up with a plan to increase green space on campuses, especially those farther from parks.

An ethnic-studies task force will review school offerings and suggest curriculum and profession­al developmen­t.

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