Newsletter – February 3, 2026

SF Parents is still hopeful that SFUSD and UESF can reach an agreement that avoids disruption for students and their families.

We just sent out a newsletter on Friday with the latest news which you can find here if you missed it. We are sharing some additional updates below on the evolving situation:

• When: The earliest we could see a teacher strike is Monday, February 9, however, it could happen later in February. If it follows the pattern of similar unions across the state that are striking, it could last anywhere from 1-8 days.

• Support for most vulnerable students during strike: We’ve asked SFUSD and the Mayor’s Office to plan and ensure that our most vulnerable students have the supports they need in the case of a strike, especially moderate/severe special education students, children of emergency workers, homeless and foster students, and students who rely on their school buildings for three meals every day. They have told us that they are working on contingency planning specifically to address the impacts to working families if a strike occurs, and focusing on how they can especially support the most vulnerable students. We will keep you posted as we learn more, and expect to see more on this in future district communications.

• Learning supports during strike: We have asked the district how they will support student learning during a potential strike. This is another area where SFUSD says it is focused on identifying solutions, but there is no additional information at this time. Again, we will keep you posted on what we learn here, and also hope to hear from the district on this soon.

• The bargaining and what’s actually being offered vs. asked for: Our understanding of what the district is offering and what the union is asking for is that they are not necessarily that far off from each other. The district offered raises and fully funded healthcare benefits to dependents. The union did not make a counter proposal in their most recent session at the table. The big challenge seems to be that the district is asking for the union to make concessions in order to be able to afford the proposed raises and dependent health care benefits. For example, SFUSD‘s sabbatical package from past contract agreements is more generous than most districts and is one area where they are negotiating and looking for room to be able to afford the raises and benefits.

• CTA involvement: Multiple city and state officials have shared with us that the California Teachers Association has been encouraging local unions to strike, and advising local unions with open contracts to push harder this year including recommending to strike. We believe that the CTA is encouraging striking because of the strong state budget this year, while the weaker projections for the next few cycles and an unknown future governor make it risky to wait for future years. Rather than strike, we’d love to see all parties—districts, unions, parents, city leaders—from across the state come together to advocate for increased education funding from Newsom and the CA legislature. SFUSD and other major districts are coordinating an effort, more on that here.
  

• State rejection possibility: Given that we’re still under state fiscal oversight, any new agreement must meet state financial viability requirements. Last week we learned that some of the proposals considered during bargaining could be rejected by the state fiscal advisor because they exceed those financial cost limits. We hope that the district and union agree to a contract that will be approved by the state oversight bodies.

• Does SFUSD Have a Budget Problem? A Look at the Facts. There’s been a lot of information circulating about SFUSD’s budget, including questions about whether the district really has a budget problem, how to interpret its reserves, and how seriously to take deficit warnings. Because school district finances are complex and often confusing, we took a closer look at the actual budget history and standard school finance definitions to help clarify what’s really going on.
  
  

• Where is the School Board on this?: it’s interesting that the school board has been entirely silent on this topic. We’re curious about where they stand. We did see that President Phil Kim announced he will be providing updates on his social media handle here. We hope to see a strong stance for our students, our teachers, and our public schools that will encourage an agreement between union and district leaders that does not require disruption for our students. A special Board of Education meeting will take place tonight, Tuesday, February 3, focused on labor negotiations. The Board is expected to discuss and act on an emergency resolution that would give Superintendent Su authority to make necessary operational decisions in the event of a strike. For more information, read the SF Parents cheat sheet for tonight’s meeting here.
  
  

• How parents are feeling: We sent out a parent survey link last week and received over 700 responses. 61% of you share that school closures would be very or extremely disruptive. Only 12% said closures would cause little or no disruption. Child care is the biggest challenge raised by families. If schools close, 23% of families would need to miss work, and only 4% said paid childcare is a realistic option. Most families would need to rely on informal care or make difficult work tradeoffs. A majority of parents are concerned about learning disruption for students.
  
  

• What to expect next: The neutral fact-finding report is expected on February 4 and will outline areas of agreement, disagreement, and possible paths forward. Once the report is issued, there is typically a 10-day cooling-off period during which negotiations can continue, though the exact timing and how the union may proceed afterward is not fully known. If no agreement is reached, the union could choose to move toward a strike, which would require at least 48 hours’ notice to the District before any work stoppage occurs.

Our hope is that both sides move toward an agreement that avoids disruption and keeps students at the center.

• Most recent bargaining information from the district and teacher’s union:
  
  Find SFUSD’s updates here.
  Find UESF’s updates here.

We know this is a stressful time for families, and we are here to support you. Your voices matter, and we appreciate families continuing to share questions and feedback as this situation unfolds. 

We will continue monitoring the situation closely and will share updates as new information becomes available.