Bellevue School District Reaches Reopening Deal With Teachers

BELLEVUE, WA — Bellevue's teachers agreed late Monday to move forward with reopening plans, ending a standoff between the union and the school district the first week back in the classroom in nearly a year.

The district welcomed hundreds of second graders back to school last Thursday over the objections of the teachers union, after its members voted overwhelmingly to call for a pause until all teachers were eligible for vaccination. Under the state's current timeline, teachers in high-risk groups will qualify in February, but the broader population of educators and school staff will likely have to wait until April.

The district agreed to cancel classes Monday to hammer out a deal with the Bellevue Education Association.

In a note shared with families Monday night, district officials announced an agreement reached with the teachers union that balanced "the need to ensure the respect the health and safety of our educators and staff."

District officials said second graders would return to class Tuesday morning, while synchronous learning would resume for all other grades.

The district has released only limited details on the agreement approved by the teachers union, including an updated timeline for reopening plans:

• Second graders will continue to meet in person Tuesday and Thursday this week, with Wednesday as a remote learning day. This Friday is a no-school day.
• First graders will be welcomed back Feb. 8 - 9, with the rest of that week remote.
• Kindergarteners will start in-person learning Feb. 11 - 12.
• Current in-person learners return to buildings Tuesday and continue on their normal schedules.

The teachers union published a lengthy statement Tuesday afternoon describing the agreement as a compromise reached with deep reservations following hours of consideration.

"It addresses many of the concerns so vocally raised by our educators — which, until our collective action over the past weeks, had gone largely unheard," wrote Allison Snow, president of the Bellevue Education Association. "The agreement grants rights to our educators that should have been in place many months ago and enables us to begin providing more services for our students in a way that better protects them and our staff."

Snow firmly criticized the district's response to the safety concerns raised by teachers, including the decision to forge ahead with reopening plans last week while sending the community only "predetermined information." Her statement also contrasted Bellevue's decision with neighboring districts that chose to push reopening timelines to ensure students and staff were ready.

Snow concludes:

"To our District leaders: consider yourselves on notice. You had the opportunity to do the compassionate thing — as our neighbors in Northshore, Lake Washington, and a rising number of other districts have done. You rejected that opportunity. You chose to sow division, hate, and distrust. And for what? At what cost? We will no longer tolerate such leadership at the head of our nation, and we will not tolerate it from you. With this compromise we offer you a chance to learn from your mistakes and show you will do better to live the values of our district and model the way. If you are unable to do so, please make way for leaders who can."

In its letter to families, the district said it would continue to adhere to strict risk mitigation protocols while forming a planning team to help staff access COVID-19 vaccinations when eligible. Officials said they were working to schedule vaccine clinics for district staff and would join other state leaders that are advocating for Gov. Jay Inslee to place all teachers in an earlier vaccination phase.

More details on the district's agreement will be shared once they are available.