Dive Brief:
- Wednesday saw thousands of educators in Washington state walk out in the first of a series of one-day strikes protesting current pay, benefits, and class sizes.
- This first strike involved almost 3,000 educators across nine school districts, two of which had to cancel classes while a third district called a half-day.
- Smaller strikes are planned Friday and next week.
Dive Insight:
In addition to requests for pay increases, educators want to see limits placed on class sizes in grades 4-12, as well as the nixing of a bill that would tie student test scores to teacher evaluations.
Of course, the issues being protested are among the profession's most common complaints nationwide. Currently, Washington state legislators are mulling a proposal to increase teacher pay by 3% over two years, though educators don't see that as fair compensation when the state's rising cost of living is taken into consideration. Additionally, teacher healthcare funding in the state hasn't increased in five years.