News Update

Oakland Unified still in union negotiations over distance learning, with school starting Aug. 10

With less than two weeks before school starts in Oakland Unified, the district is still in negotiations with its labor unions trying to hammer out how it will deliver distance learning and how it will determine when it is safe to bring students and staff back to campuses. In a Wednesday community update, the district said it could not release “clear detailed plans to reopen schools” until it establishes agreements with each of its unions, including the Oakland Education Association, which represents teachers.

The state requires districts to provide 180 days of instruction, establishes a minimum number of minutes each day for various grade levels, and requires “daily live interaction” between teachers and students, but does not specify how much of the instruction must be live versus pre-recorded or delivered through online platforms or paper packets. The district is proposing to exceed the minimum distance learning requirements and is proposing more of each type of instruction at all grade levels than the union, which is seeking more flexibility, time for planning and “wellness time.”

A side-by-side comparison of the district and union proposals created by the union shows that besides disagreeing on the way instruction is delivered, the two sides also disagree on how to determine when it is safe to return to campuses, how soon learning can begin if all students do not have access to technology and the internet, and how school schedules will be created and approved. The union released a video on Monday highlighting its concerns about the high number of Covid-19 cases in Oakland, which it says should be taken into consideration when deciding when it is safe to reopen campuses, instead of relying on average data that spans all of Alameda County.

The district acknowledges that all students do not yet have access to technology and the internet, but said in a July 22 message to the community that it has ordered nearly 25,000 Chromebooks, which it hopes to distribute “as close to the start of school as possible, starting by late August” and extending into September.


Latest updates: