San Francisco teachers end four-day strike with tentative SFUSD deal on pay, health benefits and workloads

Tentative agreement ends widespread school closures

San Francisco public school teachers and other represented educators ended a four-day strike after reaching a late-night tentative agreement with the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), bringing an end to districtwide school closures that disrupted instruction for roughly 50,000 students across about 120 schools.

The walkout began Monday, February 9, 2026, and was the city’s first teacher strike since 1979. Negotiations stretched for months and entered formal impasse and fact-finding in January. The tentative deal still requires ratification by union members and approval by the Board of Education.

What is known about the main economic terms

Public reporting on the agreement’s headline numbers differs in several key areas, including the size and structure of pay increases and the timeline for fully funded dependent health coverage. Across accounts, however, two core elements are consistent: educator pay rises over a two-year term, and the agreement moves SFUSD toward fully funding dependent health insurance, an issue that had been central to the strike.

• Salary increases: Descriptions of the package variously characterize the raise as 6% over two years with components tied to additional training days, or as a higher total percentage over two years. The parties have described the agreement as a tradeoff between wages and health benefits.
• Dependent health benefits: The deal includes a pathway to fully funded dependent coverage, with partial funding beginning in 2026 and full funding described as beginning in 2027 in some accounts.
• Paraeducator pay: Reports indicate paraeducators receive a raise package that exceeds the percentage increase described for teachers, with additional boosts for certain specialized roles.

Workload and special education remain a pressure point

Special education staffing and workload standards were among the most contested issues throughout bargaining. While the tentative agreement includes steps framed as relief for special education caseloads in some accounts, other coverage indicates the deal did not include large-scale workload reductions because of cost.

Both sides signaled that the settlement reflects financial constraints as well as urgent retention and affordability concerns for educators working in San Francisco.

Fiscal and operational stakes for the district

SFUSD entered the strike facing a substantial budget gap and state oversight, with district leaders warning that higher ongoing compensation commitments could force reductions elsewhere. The strike also carried potential financial consequences linked to attendance-based state funding, with estimates placing the loss in the tens of millions if instructional time is not made up.

With Presidents Day and Lunar New Year holidays immediately following the strike week, the timing shaped expectations around when normal school operations could resume, as campuses must restart meal service, transportation routines and instructional schedules.

District and union leaders have indicated additional details would be released as the ratification process proceeds.