Beverly Hills Teachers Union & District Reach Reopening Agreement

BEVERLY HILLS, CA —The Beverly Hills School Unified School District has reached an agreement with the Beverly Hills Education Association, the teachers union that filed an Unfair Practice Charge against the district last week.

As a result of a Saturday mediation session led by the California Public Employment Relations Board, the BHEA's request for an injunction to prevent the planned return of TK-2 students to campus this week has been suspended, according to PERB General Counsel Felix De La Torre.

The Beverly Hills Board of Education voted 5-0 to approve a settlement agreement with the BHEA, which is pushing back the start dates to next Monday for grades TK-2 and Tuesday for grades 3-5. It also providing expanded access to vaccines, testing, PPE and cleaning equipment, and more flexible accommodations for teachers with health risks.

"I am pleased to announce that this afternoon the Board of Education voted 5-0 to approve the Settlement Agreement with the Beverly Hills Education Association (BHEA) regarding staff returning to the classroom for in-person instruction," wrote Board President Rachelle Marcus. "As a result, we have a collaborative resolution with BHEA to reopen our Elementary Schools. I want to thank you for your patience and understanding. I am hopeful we can have our Middle and High School students back very soon. We look forward to welcoming our TK-2 students who have chosen to return in-person on Monday and grades 3-5 on Tuesday."

In the original agreement, TK-2 were set to return to campus Thursday.

"Through mediation BHEA has reached an agreement with the school district to return to in-person instruction for the elementary grades," the BHEA said in a statement. "We believe we have demonstrated that we expect the School District to honor its agreements, but are pleased that this mediation has allowed us to work with the District to improve internal safety conditions and supports, thereby mitigating risks that would have been imposed by the new starting dates. The settlement includes access to vaccines, floor marking to enhance social distancing, PPE equipment and cleaning supplies, COVID-19 testing for staff, and accommodations for educators with higher risk health conditions or those who live in households with higher-risk individuals. BHEA appreciates the patience and support of the community as we worked to help ensure the safety of students, their families, and staff."

The dispute arose after BHUSD moved the start district up, and the BHEA argued that this violated their agreement by reopening campuses to elementary school students before COVID-19 case rates had fallen to agreed-upon levels.

A December addendum to the agreement between the district and the union said that elementary school students would return to campus once the county adjusted case rate was at 10 or below cases per 100,000 people. When LA County announced in mid-February that elementary school students could return when the case rate was 25 or under provided schools had submitted a safety plan or received a waiver, BHUSD announced that TK-2 students would return March 4 and third through fifth graders would return March 8. The union argued that this violated the addendum, while the district argued that the agreement said that in-person learning would resume "as soon as is feasible consistent with applicable state and local directives issued in response to this pandemic."

Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy announced in a letter sent Sunday that the opening date was postponed in order to give teachers some additional time to get vaccinated, and that the district created a list of elementary school teachers to help . Bregy reported that LA County is preparing to give the district its first allocation of vaccinations for employees starting this week, and each subsequent week until all staff receives both doses.

Bregy also reported that all BHUSD staff have been offered COVID-19 testing twice per week, and students who request testing will be able to receive it. The district has agreed to rigorous safety standards, including full cleanings, temperature screenings, and the separation of students into morning and afternoon cohorts. Elementary school students will spend two hours and twenty minutes on campus every day except Wednesday, when they will spend an hour and thirty minutes doing in-person learning. They will spend the rest of the day taking virtual classes in gym, music, science lab, art, and MakeSpace. Students will spend the two days before the campus return practicing asynchronous learning - or learning not supervised by a teacher, Bregy reported.

* Correction: A previous addition of this article said students will be on campus four days a week for two hours and fifty minutes. Patch regrets the error.