On March 10th and 12th, the DCTA Bargaining Team met with DPS to present initial contract proposals, focusing on class sizes, workloads, and protections for specialized educator groups—including CTE Instructors, Educational Sign Language Interpreters, Associate Teachers, Ballarat educators, JROTC, and Specialized Service Providers.
A huge thank you to every member and supporter who packed the room both nights! Your presence made a powerful impact, showing the district that we are united for the schools students and educators deserve!
The DCTA Bargaining Team made an opening proposal on class size caps that our students deserve. The language is modeled off numbers in New York. For three years, DCTA’s Instructional Issues Council (IIC) has pushed DPS to address large class sizes. While both sides have researched national solutions, DPS refuses to adopt meaningful changes. Our proposals put students first—advocating for real solutions based on educator input.
Key DCTA Proposals from Bargaining this Week:
- Class Size Caps (Article 8):
- ECE: 16 students
- Kindergarten – 3rd grade: 20 students
- 4th – 5th grade: 23 students
- 6th – 8th grade: 23 students
- 9th – 12th grade: 25 students (max 125 total per day)
- Caseload Caps (Article 8)
- Mild/Moderate Special Education Teachers: Max 15 students at the start of the year (never exceeding 20)
- Center-Based Special Education Teachers: Max 10 students (never exceeding 12)
- School Nurses: Assigned to no more than two buildings at a time
- Occupational Therapists: Caseload cap at 50 students
- Speech/Language Pathologists (SLPs):
- ECE & Center-Based SLPs: Max 40 students
- All other SLPs: Max 55 students
Additional proposals include improvements to evaluation systems (LEAP, SSP GPS Framework, NII Framework), and ensuring all educators can obtain non-probationary status, like teachers under TECDA.
