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Occupational therapists urge SRVUSD to bargain over new LEA billing documentation demands
Summary
Representatives of the district—s occupational therapy department urged the board to bargain over Paradigm documentation added for LEA Billing Option Program compliance, saying it materially changes workloads and risks reducing direct student services without additional staff time or protections.
At the public comment portion of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District board meeting, occupational therapists asked trustees to bargain over new documentation obligations tied to the LEA Billing Option Program (LEA BOP).
Julianne Tolman, speaking for the district—s occupational therapy department, said the district—s new Paradigm documentation requirements constitute "a significant change in working conditions" and risk reducing time for direct services. "Documentation whose primary purpose is medical reimbursement does not directly support student progress, IEP implementation, or educational access," Tolman said, and noted the district—s stipend covered only a small portion of the additional work.
Tolman asked the board to ensure documentation time is formally built into staff schedules, to establish clear written standards to avoid over-documentation, to provide paid training, to consider caseload adjustments if documentation demands remain high and to provide clerical or technical support. "Most importantly, we were requesting impact bargaining to formally address this change in working conditions," she said.
Tammy Castelluccio, president of the local CSEA chapter, later told the board CSEA supports revenue-generating proposals but said the association and staff need to reach a fair agreement and help ensure OTs and PTs are not overburdened; she said negotiations would begin on successor contracts in the coming weeks.
Why it matters: The LEA BOP approach can provide reimbursement to districts for related services but, according to OTs, may shift substantial administrative burden onto clinicians. Trustees and district negotiators will decide whether procedural or bargaining changes are needed to protect service time and ensure compliance.
Next steps: Staff and the union indicated negotiations will continue; the board did not take immediate action on the public comment but CSEA said formal contract negotiations will begin the following week.
