Collective Bargaining Agreements Approved For FCPS Teachers, More Staff

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Collective bargaining agreements for teachers and some other school staff will advance after approval by the Fairfax County School Board Thursday. This is the first time in decades that eligible employees can have a collective bargaining agreement, as a state ban on collective bargaining was lifted in 2021.

The school board unanimously ratified contracts for the licensed instructional staff and operational employees bargaining units.

According to board meeting documents, the contracts include a 7 percent market scale adjustment to salary scales in fiscal year 2026 and 3 percent in fiscal years 2027 and 2028, additional step at the top of salary scales in fiscal years 2027 and 2028, a minimum 30-minute block for teacher planning time, continuing an extended day contract for special education teachers, three days of bereavement leave separate from sick leave, and creation of a health care advisory committee to consider affordable health care plans.

School Board Chair Karl Frisch said in remarks that the agreements were a "historic moment" for the staff that serve Fairfax County children.

"At its heart, this three-year contract is about ensuring that our schools can recruit and retain the best educators and staff," said Frisch. "It is about giving our teachers the respect and compensation they deserve, providing our bus drivers, custodians, and other support staff with fair wages, and ensuring that everyone who enriches the lives of our students feels valued."

Collective bargaining was not allowed for nearly 50 years in Virginia until a new state law took effect in 2021. The school board approved its collective bargaining ordinance in March 2023, allowing three employee bargaining units. The licensed instructional staff unit covers not only teachers but also librarians, school counselors, speech-language pathologists, instructional specialists, school psychologists, school social workers and school-based technology specialists.

The operational employees unit covers non-supervisor employees in food service, trades, department support staff, school-based assistants and attendants, contracted family liaisons, custodial, security, clerical, and transportation.

The third bargaining unit is for administrators and supervisors, covering full and part-time principals, associate and assistant principals, directors of student activities, directors of student services, and administrators (including special programs). In October 2024, the Fairfax County Federation of Principals, Supervisors, and Administrators was approved as the exclusive representative for the administrators and supervisors bargaining unit.

In June 2024, the licensed and operational staff bargaining units chose Fairfax Education Unions as the exclusive collective bargaining representative to negotiate a contact with FCPS. Tentative agreements were reached on Oct. 31, 2024, and a majority of the bargaining units voted to ratify the agreements in November.