Negotiations FAQ

• Regular school days and hours
• Not “school as usual.”
  • School principals and support staff will educate and supervise students during a strike. 
  • Each school has already developed grade-level appropriate instructional plans that will be provided to students. 
  • Parents can choose to enroll their child in Independent Study.

• Lessons for each grade level have been developed and will be provided to students.
• Families may opt for short-term independent study (see below for more information on independent study) and use these links:
  • English version: https://app.informedk12.com/link_campaigns/tk-12-short-term-independent-study-agreement-english?token=YVbtDgf78orpXoEkiFmAS4Es
  • Spanish: https://app.informedk12.com/link_campaigns/tk-12-short-term-independent-study-agreement-spanish?token=r5P6WchNtouMqCsjnHETf6Ri

• Breakfast and lunch will be provided
• If students do not attend school, a parent/caregiver may pick up their meals as long as:
  • They must have the student’s/s’ ID number, or
  • Have their student's full name and date of birth
• Meals can be picked up at the district’s central kitchen: 
  • Location: 750 Bissell Avenue, Richmond, CA 94801
  • Office Hours: 7:30am to 1:00pm

• The District’s regular attendance policy will remain in effect.  Please note that a teacher strike is not deemed an excused absence.  (See Board Policy 5113, Absences and Excuses; 2025-2026 Parent Student Handbook, pp. 12-14.)
• Once students arrive at school, they are expected to remain on campus for the entire school day unless they are formally checked out by a parent/guardian.  Leaving campus without permission is considered an unexcused absence and is not allowed.  
• Please talk with your students about attending school and staying on campus during the school day, even during a strike.  If your child needs to leave school for a legitimate reason, please follow our standard procedures so we can facilitate their safety.

• All families should check for regular messages from the District and their student’s principal
  • If you have children at more than one school, please be sure to check for messages from each student’s school site
  • Information from site-to-site may vary and we want families to have the correct information for all their school site/s
  • Messages will be shared directly from the district and your principal via ParentSquare.
    • Message formats: Emails, and/or text messaging and robocalls as needed. 
    • It is essential that families ensure they have access to ParentSquare to receive regular updates. 
    • If parents have provided current contact information in PowerSchool, they should be able to access their ParentSquare account. 
    • You do not need to download the ParentSquare app to receive emails from the District or School. 
  • District website: www.wccusd.net
  • District social media
    • Facebook: @westcontracostaschools
    • Instagram: @wccusd

• Make sure that the information on your WCCUSD Emergency Card is current so that your child’s school can notify you of any updates
• Your school should always have current contact information for your family, including phone number, email address, and home address
• Review your contact information in PowerSchool to ensure we have the best contact available for you and your child.

A: No, unfortunately no transportation at this time.

A:  Education Services can assist you. Please reach out to kacosta-verprauskus@wccusd.net.  We are working to respond to all inquiries in a timely manner.

A: Absolutely, we are processing a very high volume of independent study work and we will give credit for work submitted.

During short-term independent study, students are temporarily marked absent while they work from home. This is how the system records attendance until the independent study work is submitted.Once your child turns in their completed assignments, a credentialed teacher reviews and grades the work. After that review, we update the attendance so your child receives credit for the instructional time. So you may see absences at first, but they are adjusted once the work is verified.

A. No. Any member of a striking union who chooses to strike will not be paid the daily rate of pay for each day they are absent.

Any employee who is a member of a striking union who does not report for duty during the strike will not be paid by the District for the days the Employee strikes.  Their paycheck will be reduced in the next pay period.  For each day of a strike, per diem rates for salaried employees are deducted based on their current salary schedule for the number of days the employee is absent.  For hourly employees, the entire hours for the days of absence during the strike are deducted.

Some stipends and extra pay are ordinarily paid to Employees, especially UTR members, for assignments that may occur during a strike.  These stipends or extra pay may also be reduced for days during an Employee’s absence due to a strike.

A: It might. A striking Employee’s retirement service credit can be negatively impacted during a strike. 

Any day an employee chooses to strike is not a day of “creditable service.”  Therefore, an employee will jeopardize completing a full year of service credit toward their retirement if they strike.  This can be deemed an unpaid leave and a break in service, which can negatively impact an employee’s planned retirement date.  Recent state legislation can further affect this calculation.  Further information may be available through STRS and PERS regarding the impact of a decision to strike on service credit and retirement plans.

A: No. Taking sick leave, personal leave, or other leave to avoid a pay deduction by a striking employee is prohibited. 

The UTR collective bargaining agreement does not authorize the use of accumulated sick leave or personal necessity leave during a work stoppage.  The District recognizes that serious emergencies with an employee can occur at any time, and any exceptions will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

A: No. Employees are not eligible for unemployment benefits while on strike. 

Striking is a voluntary choice to withhold their services during the course of employment by the employee and, as such, are not entitled to claim Unemployment Compensation Benefits.

A: Worker’s compensation claims are handled through a third-party administrator who determines whether a claim occurred during the course and scope of employment.  

Workers’ compensation may not cover an injury that occurs while an employee is on strike, because the employee was not working for the District and was not being paid by the District.  The final determination of these claims is with the workers' compensation administrator.

A. Safety of students and staff is always a top priority.  The District has a safety plan in place if a strike occurs and has been communicating with local agencies about the possibility of a strike.   

The District has developed a safety plan for each school site in the event of a strike.  The plan focuses on the safety of students and staff who come to school and on the continuity of services to students.  The District has taken additional measures to promote the safety of students and staff at schools in the event of a strike.  The District has also been communicating with local agencies in each city within the District’s boundaries about a potential strike and are grateful to those agencies for their support.

A: No. Striking Employees will not be allowed on any school campuses, including District buildings, bathrooms, or classrooms, during a strike.  During strikes, unions often arrange for porta-potties to be delivered to locations near schools.

Employees who choose to strike will not be allowed on any District campus during the strike.   This includes inside District buildings, classrooms, bathrooms, cafeterias, teacher lounges, or any other area or building on a District school site for the duration of a strike day.  Employees who choose to come to work to support students will be allowed to do so.

Striking employees may protest in the public spaces adjacent to a school, provided the safety of students and other staff is not harmed or is not in imminent risk of harm.  During a strike, unions often deliver porta-potties to locations near schools to accommodate striking members or make arrangements with establishments in the vicinity of a school.  This is not a District responsibility.

A. No – not solely because of a strike.  Regular WCCUSD attendance policies apply during a strike. Still, the District respects that parents may make decisions about what is in their child's best interest, including enrolling in short-term Independent Study.

The District’s attendance policy allows for excused absences, but a teacher strike is not deemed an excused absence.  (See Board Policy 5113, Absences and Excuses; 2025-2026 Parent Student Handbook, pp. 12-14.)   However, the District fully respects parents' rights to decide what is in their child's best interests during a strike.  More information for parents and guardians is available here.

But schools will remain open, meals will be served, and educational activities will continue if a strike occurs.  Parents may send their child to school or choose Independent Study to ensure their child receives attendance credit and grade-level-appropriate educational activities during a strike.  More information about short-term Independent Study can be found here.  Enrolling in a short-term independent study is entirely voluntary and may not exceed 15 school days.

Please remember that once students arrive at school, they are expected to remain on campus for the entire school day unless they are formally checked out by a parent/guardian.  Leaving campus without permission is considered an unexcused absence and is not allowed.  We ask that families speak with their students about the importance of attending school and staying on campus during the school day, even during a strike.  If your child needs to leave school for a legitimate reason, please follow our standard procedures so we can facilitate their safety.

A. No.  Compulsory education is the law in California for school-age children.  This means that any adult who encourages a student not to attend school, or to “cut” school, may be contributing to the delinquency of a minor, which is a crime under California law.  

The District fully respects its employees' rights to participate in lawful union activity and to protest.  However, because of the compulsory education laws, we do not support any District employee encouraging our students to be absent from school during a teacher strike.  Attendance will be recorded daily and by period at the secondary level, and we want to ensure our students and families comply with the attendance requirements mandated by the state of California and District policy.  Thus, any conduct by a District employee encouraging students to be absent from school because of a strike without a legitimate excuse from the child’s parent or guardian is strictly prohibited.

A: It certainly can.  A school district can lose some of its state funding because of a strike? 

A school strike that occurs during this window (between what’s called P1 and P2) can impact the District’s state revenue next year if average daily attendance declines.  Therefore, a strike can worsen the District's already critical fiscal situation.

A: No. The District knows that choosing to strike is a personal decision and the District cannot and will not discipline against any employee regardless of the decision they make.