Union and district near agreement on progressive discipline; scheduling, inclusion planning and Wednesday PLCs remain under discussion

Union and district negotiators reported significant headway on a progressive discipline protocol during the March 27 bargaining session, while leaving major work for coming meetings on teacher workday structure, collaborative planning time for inclusion assignments and the district’s Wednesday meeting calendar.

Progressive discipline protocol: The draft language the parties discussed reframes responses to performance or conduct issues as supportive, building‑level interventions when the matter is non‑disciplinary. The protocol would encourage building leaders to work collaboratively with the member and the union (building rep and, when appropriate, union leadership) to create non‑punitive, documented steps that outline expectations, supports and timelines. If a building leader believes conduct rises to formal discipline, the protocol would refer the case to human resources for investigation and formal action, removing the need for principals to separately serve as investigator and ongoing supervisor in serious cases. Both sides described the approach as intended to preserve supportive relationships while ensuring impartial investigations for disciplinary matters.

Why it matters: Teachers and administrators said a clearer, collaborative approach can reduce adversarial encounters, provide consistent supports for struggling staff, and let principals focus on coaching rather than carrying out formal investigatory discipline alone. District negotiators described the change as mutually beneficial.

Scheduling, inclusion and collaborative planning: Negotiations also covered multiple interrelated workplace issues:

• Teacher workday length and instructional minutes: ICSD presented a proposal to add instructional minutes that would alter elementary and secondary start/stop times (elementary example shown: an 8:00–2:30 instructional day, which the district said equates to a longer teacher workday). ITA negotiators noted the proposal would have budget implications and asked that professional time be addressed separately from instructional minutes. ICSD and union staff agreed the topic needs more time and modeling.

• Inclusion/co‑planning time: The parties acknowledged the current contract lacks explicit language for co‑planning time for inclusion assignments. The ITA proposed minimum collaborative planning time for inclusion teams and testing/case‑management time for special education staff; ICSD said it will study feasibility and implementation tradeoffs.

• Wednesday meetings/PLCs: The district and union each proposed different structures for the Wednesday calendar: ITA’s draft would standardize Wednesday meetings across the year and preserve PLCs; ICSD proposed converting more Wednesdays to all‑staff meetings and concentrating PLC work on fifth‑Wednesday situations. Both sides agreed to review how current Wednesday use aligns with district goals for professional development and collaboration.

Next steps: Bargaining teams agreed to spend the April cycle addressing these working conditions, starting with a focused discussion on teacher workday structure and related professional responsibilities. The parties also discussed upstream interventions (improved scheduling processes and deadlines) to reduce late assignment changes and the downstream need for paid prep time when assignments change after teachers leave for summer.

Quotes from the session

• "When situations arise in the building... this can sometimes be the most disruptive thing that happens to the teacher, to the building," an ITA negotiator said when introducing progressive discipline revisions.

• "No one will lose salary... We're trying to pay people for their service and their commitment. More, not less," an ICSD representative said while describing how leapfrog adjustments would be upward only.

Outcome at session: The progressive discipline proposal received an initial positive reception from both sides and was described as mutually beneficial pending final drafting. Scheduling, inclusion planning, Wednesday meetings and collaborative master scheduling were left for further work; parties set a sequence of topics for April and asked staff teams to return with concrete drafts and budget/capacity information.