Clean & Safe Schools for All

The crisis created by COVID-19 exposed the vast inequities in our educational system. One of the most urgent divides is in the cleaning and maintenance of our schools.

School workers who clean and maintain schools have struggled with staffing cuts and impossible workloads for years. Without clear cleaning and staffing standards and consistent funding, school districts have continued to make cuts and undervalue the importance of school cleanliness.

Schools in less affluent areas and students of color are most affected – impacting the learning and safety of our most vulnerable communities.

The pandemic has taught us that we need to do more to ensure that all students and staff have access to safe, sanitized and healthy campuses. We need to do more than just reopen with the same old problems: we need to do better.

Take Action

A Call to Adopt Statewide Cleaning Standards

SEIU Local 99 members are urging legislators and the governor to support the health and safety of all students, staff and the school community by:

Adopting the Association of Physical Plant Administrators (APPA) Tier 1 Standards as the goal for school facility cleanliness.

Ensuring K-14 districts work with frontline workers to establish clear protocols for evaluating the current level of cleanliness in schools and create plans for compliance with cleaning standards.

Implementing green cleaning to reduce levels of chemical hazards and protect students, staff and the environment.

Establishing a dedicated fund for the cleaning and maintenance of schools to ensure there is sufficient staff, supplies and equipment to meet school cleanliness standards.

Structural Inequities in Maintaining Clean, Safe, and Welcoming Schools

Schools have not invested enough in cleaning and maintenance to create a safe and welcoming environment, especially schools attended predominantly by lower-income Black and Brown students.

38%

Schools that don’t meet minimum facility standards.

Source: Public Policy Institute of CA, 2020

Education Worker Voices

  • We’re Fighting For Respect at LAUSD! Here’s a Summary of Our Contract Demands.

    By

    We’re fighting to change LAUSD’s unjust compensation system that treats classified employees as second class workers. This is about LAUSD respecting our work, our rights, and our contributions to student learning. That is why our bargaining team has presented LAUSD with bold demands and why we’re ready to take bold action. Here’s a summary [Read more]

  • LAUSD Bargaining Update: It’s time to show the district how much our work is worth!

    By

    Our bargaining team met with LAUSD on December 9.  It was clear that the district has been paying attention to our school and worksite actions. LAUSD increased their wage offer by 2% – still not enough! It's time to show them what we're worth! Watch the video above to hear from members of [Read more]

  • LAUSD Bargaining Update: We Demand Equity & Respect!

    By

    Our bargaining team met with LAUSD on October 13, 2022, and the district continued to show their disrespect. Even though they said they wanted to “expedite” negotiations, the district did not budge on its low-ball wage offer:Zero $ wage increase for 20205% increase for 2021-224% increase and a 3% one-time bonus for 22-234% increase [Read more]

  • Members Reject LAUSD’s Proposal to Change School Calendar

    By

    Our SEIU Local 99 bargaining team met with LAUSD on October 4. One of the key issues discussed was the district’s proposal to change the school calendar to reschedule acceleration days from Oct. 19, Dec. 7, March 15 and April 19 to dates during winter and spring breaks - Dec. 19 & 20 and [Read more]

  • LAUSD Student Acceleration Days Helping students succeed and offering more opportunities for staff

    By

    The 2022-23 school year at LAUSD will include four additional, optional school days that the district is calling student acceleration days (Oct 19, Dec 7, 2022 and March 15, April 19, 2023). These days are meant to help students catch-up and address some of the learning loss that occurred during the pandemic.  As education [Read more]

  • It’s On! Contract Negotiations Begin with LAUSD

    By

    On April 7, 2022, members on our SEIU Local 99 Bargaining Team began negotiations with LAUSD for our next full contract. Our team will be presenting proposals to ensure clean, safe and supportive schools for all by improving wages, hours, staffing and more.

In the News

To ensure safe schools for all, we need statewide cleaning standards
EdSource

“Covid-19 put a spotlight on how this inconsistent approach and chronic underfunding can seriously impact the health and safety of school communities. In response to the crisis, increased funding for school maintenance was included in the state budget. For Los Angeles Unified, this means the new school year started with nearly 1,000 new custodians. It’s a good step forward, but funding is only temporary and staffing levels could drop again once the money runs out.”

California schools struggle to pay for ventilation upgrades, key to safely reopen campuses
EdSource

“…research shows that well-ventilated, clean air can lessen the spread of the coronavirus as well as other contaminants, including wildfire smoke, dust and air pollution. Clean air can also improve students’ academic achievement, reduce absenteeism and boost health overall for students and staff, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.”

Why Schools Should Be the Center of a Green New Deal
Gizmodo

“A lot of us already had a lot of pollution and crime and all that going on at home in our neighborhoods. It would be a lot better if at least school was safe and comfortable.”

Key Dates

State legislators and the governor will decide on funding for cleaning standards and staffing levels. Here are key dates in the state budget process.

May 14
May 18
May – June
June 15
June 30

May 14

Governor Newsom announces a revised state budget proposal that includes his proposed funding for 2021-22, called the May Revise.

May 18

LAUSD votes on a resolution in support of state funding for school cleaning standards.

May – June

Legislative hearings. State legislators review the budget proposals. It’s our chance to contact legislators and make our voices heard before they vote on a final budget.

June 15

Deadline for CA legislature (Senate and Assembly) to pass the state budget.

June 30

Deadline for Governor Newsom to sign the budget.