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Union and district discuss ‘priority 6’ workplace proposals including progressive-discipline plan, professional development rules and program transfers
Summary
Negotiators discussed a package of workplace-policy proposals (called 'priority 6'), including a proposed progressive-discipline protocol, written professional-development expectations, and new language on district transfers of programs and use of AI; several items were tabled for committee work.
Negotiators for the Ithaca Teachers Association (ITA) and the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) spent a portion of the session on a set of workplace-policy proposals labeled “priority 6,” debating a progressive-discipline protocol, written expectations for professional development and new consultation rules for transferring district programs or adopting outside/AI-enabled instructional tools.
Why it matters: The priority-6 proposals govern day-to-day workplace practices — how schools document and respond to recurring minor misconduct, how teachers are compensated for professional development, and how the district must consult the union before moving programs or adopting outside or AI-driven systems. Those changes affect teacher workloads, protections and job predictability.
Progressive discipline: The ITA presented a progressive-discipline protocol intended to standardize responses to minor misconduct and create a clear documentation cycle. The union said the proposal would not alter existing procedures for serious misconduct handled under state statutes. A district representative cautioned that case law restricts collective bargaining from limiting the board’s authority to dismiss probationary (untenured) employees under Education Law 3020-a/3020-b; negotiators agreed to send the discipline language to committee for further legal-and-policy review.
Professional development (Proposal 55): The union proposed putting current practice into contract language so teachers clearly understand expectations. Among the items discussed were district-hosted professional learning during superintendent conference days, a prior-approval process for outside trainings, pay at the established professional-development hourly rate for district-offered PD outside the regular day, and clear labeling when a session is in-service-only. Several participants praised the drafting as capturing current practice and supported putting the language into writing.
Transfers and new programs, including AI (Proposal 56): The union asked that the district consult the ITA before transferring district programs to BOCES, bringing in outside contractors or introducing hybrid or AI-powered online programs, and proposed an annual conversation before the school year about such transfers. District negotiators raised concerns that some services — for example mandated special-education providers contracted to fulfill Individualized Education Program (IEP) requirements — cannot be withheld and that language requiring “mutual agreement” could block necessary services. The parties discussed replacing “mutual agreement” with stronger consultation language (for example, “meet to inform and elicit feedback from the union”) and agreed that the AI topic should receive separate, more precise attention because the term currently covers a wide range of tools and uses.
Process decisions and next steps: For proposals that touch on legal limits (dismissal of probationary employees) or complex procurement (AI, outside contractors), negotiators asked lawyers and committee members to meet in smaller groups to work through precise language and legal constraints. Several delegates proposed drafting and returning to committee for the fine‑grained work rather than resolving everything at the full table.
What was not decided: No final contract language for progressive discipline or program-transfer consultation was adopted at the session. The AI topic was tabled for separate discussion with the plan to develop more precise, narrower language.
Quotes from the session: - “This proposal does not take away from any teacher misconduct that would be worthy of suspension, investigation, or anything that would be covered under Ed Law 3020-b or 3020-a,” a staff member said when presenting the progressive‑discipline draft. - “Well done. You captured our current practices,” one participant said about the professional-development proposal.
Community relevance: The proposals affect teachers’ day-to-day job expectations, documentation practices and the district’s use of outside programs and AI tools — items that can change workloads, training time and who delivers required services to students.
