2017 Tentative Agreement Key Changes since 2016 Tentative Agreement Working Conditions Marking and Preparation Time Commission on Inclusive Education If the contract currently allows marking and preparation time to be scheduled during recess in your Board, and you are scheduled to have marking and preparation during recess, the Board will need to schedule an adjoining class/period as marking and preparation time. If you are required to cover a class when a substitute is contractually required but is not hired, your lost contractual marking and preparation time will be banked and you will be given substitute release time in half-day increments. You must remain at school during this banked release time. This tentative agreement creates an independent Commission to study and make recommendations on inclusive education. This Commission, which is funded by the Department and the NSTU, will study how inclusion has been implemented in Nova Scotia, review best practices throughout the world, and provide recommendations related to funding, resources and resource allocation and accountability, professional development, alignment of initiatives, and such other matters as the Commission deems appropriate. Further, the Commission will make recommendations regarding a mechanism for future regular reviews of inclusive education. Partnership on Systemic Working Conditions Class Size The Partnership on Systemic Working Conditions, as outlined in the previous tentative agreement, has been maintained with the addition of an arbitration process when the parties are unable to reach agreement and a funding commitment of $10 million in each of the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years. The Department’s current class size guidelines for P6 have been incorporated in the tentative agreement as a Letter of Understanding. Assessment The new Assessment article has been rewritten to apply to all classroom teachers and to require the Boards and Department to provide a substitute teacher to supervise the remaining students (those not being assessed) when a teacher is conducting a Department or Board mandated student assessments that require extended one-on-one student-teacher time. PowerSchool The Department has committed to determine if PowerSchool can be globally configured to have a time delay between entry of marks by a teacher and visibility on the parent and student portals. If this configuration is possible, it will be implemented. *Also note two (2) new days of leave with pay explained under Service Award. Salary The distribution and effective dates of the raises have been modified in this Tentative Agreement:  August 1, 2015 – 0%  August 1, 2016 – 0%  April 1, 2017 – 2%  April 1, 2018 – 1% Increase in Base Salary Over Life of Agreement License July 31, 2015 July 31, 2019 Increase TC5 – Max $73,804 $76,032 $2228 TC6 – Max $82,335 $84,820 $2485 TC7 – Max $87,440 $90,081 $2641 TC8 – Max $92,286 $95,071 $2785 Additional Salary Received Over Life of Agreement Additional Salary Received Over Life of Agreement Compared to 2016 Tentative Agreement Due to Raise in April rather than August $2,032 $2,162 $2,277 $794 $1,823 TC5 Max $844 $890 $712 TC6 Max TC7 Max TC8 Max TC5 Max TC6 Max TC7 Max TC8 Max Service Award Government was unwilling to continue the Service Award and was steadfast with its intention to remove it through negotiation or legislation. While your negotiating team was unable, after extensive negotiations on this issue, to convince Government to maintain the Service Award, they were able to maintain the same Service Award language as in the first two tentative agreements and negotiate two (2) days off (1% of the school year) with pay for permanent, probationary and teachers with a term contract of at least 175 days in exchange for the Service Award. If ratified, permanent, probationary and teachers with a term contract of at least 175 days will be eligible for 1 day off with pay this school year and beginning on August 1, 2017, 2 days off with pay each school year.