Union presses for clearer safety and discipline protocols, more CPI training in Philomath negotiations

Union negotiators pressed the district for clearer, proactive district- and building-level protocols to respond to threatening or belligerent parents, community members and highly dysregulated students.

"We need traction. We can't do this through email," a union negotiator said, describing teachers' frustration with inconsistent responses and the absence of clear steps for trespass, communication and follow-up.

Negotiators discussed reorganizing student-discipline language so procedures and intervention plans are in consistent contract sections, and they debated whether to retain the term 'disruptive' rather than broaden it to 'unsafe.' The union argued that keeping 'disruptive' was preferable to preserve clarity; district staff said some language changes could be editorial and that labor–management follow-ups would help refine the text.

The parties also discussed CPI (Crisis Prevention Institute) training: CPI is typically delivered over two days (about eight hours), with the first day covering verbal and nonverbal de-escalation and the second day addressing restraints. Union negotiators urged expanded day-one training for more staff and suggested short-term solutions such as assigning trained substitutes or moving trained aides between sites to ensure coverage when a trained staff member is required in a classroom.

District officials said they are willing to collaborate on protocol development and to review policy tools such as trespass or temporary campus restrictions, but cautioned that placing certain operational protocols into the collective-bargaining agreement creates grievable obligations and may require policy updates. Both sides agreed to continue joint work at the labor–management table.