Bridgeport used paras as substitute teachers during special ed training

The City of Bridgeport twice used paraprofessionals to fill in as substitute teachers during state-mandated 2-hour training sessions for special education teachers in grades 6-12, according to a recent decision by the Connecticut Board of Labor Relations.

On June 7 and 8 2023, special education teachers left the classroom for state-mandated training and paras were left to take over lesson plans for the two hours reserved for the training. Substitute teachers are generally paid $150 per day to teach, and paras are not certified to teach and cannot teach per their contract.

The move not only violated the paraprofessionals’ contract terms but also the human resources director’s message to school principals that paras should not be used to cover for teachers during those trainings after receiving the first grievance on July 7. According to the decision, the school had six weeks’ notice to prepare for the trainings, but it appears teachers left for the training without substitutes and paras assumed responsibility for course work during that time.

According to the decision, at Bridgeport’s Tisdale school, a paraprofessional and substitute para took over a teacher’s lesson plan, including “literacy, reading, and special topics like art, music, and physical education,” and six other classes and 10 other paraprofessionals assumed similar duties that day at the Tisdale school.

Notifications to education officials and class-action grievances were filed by the union immediately, and the state labor board found Bridgeport repudiated its contract with the paraprofessionals and violated its duty to provide the union information on which paras were assigned to which classrooms during the training days.

Repudiation is like bad faith bargaining but arises when a party to a contract fails to uphold the deal. Although the city argued it had not repudiated the contract, the labor board saw it differently, saying the terms of the contract “leaves no room for ambiguity.”

The city argued that they attempted to fix the problem immediately with Human Resources Director Altro-Dixon’s email to principals telling them they could not use paras to sub for teachers.

“That may be factually correct. However, the June training sessions were scheduled at least 6 weeks in advance, and although it was common knowledge that the training would effectively remove all grade 6-12 special education teachers from their classrooms, there is no evidence that any effort was made to prevent the violation in the first instance,” the decision says. “Altro-Dixon’s remedial efforts should not be overlooked. However, in our view, it is simply too little too late to avoid a finding of bad faith.”

The board also determined that the city did not make a good faith effort to provide the union with the information it requested, telling the union to poll its members to find out who covered what classroom on which days – information the board says could have more easily been obtained by the city.

The labor board ordered the City of Bridgeport to pay each paraprofessional who worked as a substitute that day the full $150 per day minus any wages they received for the day, plus interest, along with the union’s attorney fees, and make a public notice of the decision.

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