San Diego Education Association negotiations team

On April 4, the San Diego Education Association (SDEA) announced a tentative agreement with the San Diego Unified School District. For the first time, provisions include a new maternity leave benefit for their members.

SDEA also prioritized maintaining healthy members by securing fully-paid healthcare for the length of the agreement. President Lindsay Burningham said in a news release that the three-year contract will include a 2 percent increase for next year. Union members will also receive a one-time payment of 1 percent of their earnings by August.

“Our educators are worthy of fair and competitive salaries, and for the first time will be eligible for paid maternity leave,” Burningham told the Times of San Diego. “It is the hard work of our educators that has contributed to record graduation rates and student success in the district.”

The agreement calls for three weeks of paid maternity leave, protects and improves class size caps and transfer rights, and reinstates district-paid BTSA (Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment) for new educators.