We, the undersigned Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) school psychologists, speech-language pathologists (SLPs), occupational therapists (OTs), physical therapists (PTs), adaptive physical education (APE) teachers, and special education teachers serving as transition service facilitators (TSFs), submit this petition to urgently address the growing and unsustainable workload demands placed upon our roles.

Last year, ECSE Preschool Intake received approximately 6,000 referrals: 4,000 from early intervention and 2,000 from direct referrals. These referrals resulted in approximately 3,500 completed initial assessments and Individualized Education Plan (IEP). This demonstrates the substantial workload already being managed by preschool intake assessors.

Despite years of efforts to address workload concerns and advocate for additional support from LAUSD, we were informed this year that our workload expectations have increased—a decision made unilaterally and without meaningful input from preschool intake staff.  What was historically understood to be a manageable workload of 4 assessments and 4 IEP meetings per workweek—a total of 8 appointments—has now increased to 12 appointments per week in just two years.  

Workload expectations have steadily increased over time, while staffing levels and working conditions have not been adjusted accordingly to support these increased demands.  In order to keep up with the workload, many of us are regularly working through our 30-minute duty-free lunch and continuing to work beyond the contractual 8-hour workday.

LAUSD has justified this increase in workload and the overloading of our schedules by stating that the workload will eventually “balance out” over the course of the weeks due to cancellations and no-shows.  However, relying on unforeseen cancellations and no-shows to offset an otherwise excessive workload effectively requires us to routinely work beyond what can reasonably be completed within an 8-hour workday.

The current workload expectations also raise concerns regarding consistency with the UTLA Collective Bargaining Agreement, including:

• Article IX, Section 1.0: establishes the professional workday for full-time employees as no fewer than eight hours of on-site and off-site work.
• Article IX, Section 4.2: requires assigned duties to be reasonable and equitably distributed while minimizing significant impact on employees’ core duties and workday.
• Article IX, Section 5.0: provides employees with a minimum 30-minute duty-free lunch period.

To ensure ethical, defensible, and high-quality services to our students and families, we respectfully request total appointment allowance be reduced back to 8 for the following reasons:

• Ensure that our workload expectations align with our collective bargaining agreement and respect the 8-hour workday and 30-minute duty-free lunch period.
• Ensure that schedules allow for transition time between appointments (e.g., using the restroom, finishing notes, cleaning the assessment room, and walking families out).
• Account for travel, interpretation, multilingual/cultural considerations, and case complexity for each appointment.
• Protect time for documentation, report writing, preparation, record review, and communication with families and programs.
• Account for duties and caseloads outside of ECSE Preschool Intake, as many of us have additional responsibilities assigned by our respective departments that must be completed in addition to our ECSE workload and caseload.

We respectfully urge administration to engage with us in good faith and work collaboratively toward establishing a reasonable workload that is consistent with our collective bargaining agreement and allows us to remain committed to our students, families, and the integrity of our professions.