Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and the Seattle Education Association (SEA) have officially ratified a three-year collective bargaining agreement covering the 2026-2029 school years.

Under the terms of the new agreement, educators will receive a guaranteed 8.8% base salary raise over the course of three years. The salary increases are structured as 2.6% for the 2026-27 school year, 3.6% for 2027-28, and 2.6% for 2028-29. Eligible staff members will also continue to receive standard annual step and seniority raises, which average approximately 4% per year.

In addition to base pay adjustments, the contract establishes Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association (VEBA) health care savings accounts. District contributions to these accounts will start at $10 per month in 2027-28 and increase to $15 per month in 2028-29. The agreement also boosts the annual Teacher Leader Cadre stipend from $3,471 to $5,000.

The ratified contract includes significant investments in special education and student support services. It creates 40 new paraprofessional and certificated positions dedicated to district-wide academic, social-emotional, and behavioral support, paired with new regional support teams. Neighborhood school special education resources will expand, and the total count of central and school psychologists will increase to accelerate student evaluations.

Mental health and counseling resources are also prioritized under the deal. Every elementary school with an enrollment exceeding 350 students is guaranteed funding for a full-time counselor or social worker. For multilingual services, the Instructional Assistant workload ratio drops from 1 assistant per 35 students down to 1 per 33 students while preserving current teacher ratios. Stipends for multilingual department leads and elementary specialist educators will remain in place.

Working conditions and district administrative policies see key updates as well. Mandatory staff meetings are reduced from weekly occurrences down to three times per month. The contract introduces formal rules governing responsible AI deployment in classrooms to balance instruction, data privacy, and student safeguards. Additionally, the deal allocates dedicated early-release time for collaboration and streamlines voluntary transfer procedures for classified staff.