Across the state, there are a lot of kids who struggle with reading. Almost half of third-graders failed to pass the state assessment for English language arts. That's an important time in school because research has shown that students who struggle with reading at the end of third grade are less likely to graduate from high school.

(Updated at 4:00 pm on Sept. 6, 2018, to add comments from Evelyn Cook, a middle school teacher in Tacoma, and Tacoma Public Schools spokesman Dan Voelpel.) The first day of school in Tacoma was canceled on Thursday because teachers and other school staff in the state’s fourth-biggest district went on strike. That comes after the district and the Tacoma Education Association failed to reach an agreement over salary increases for the coming school year. Members of the union voted by about 97

The Supreme Court dealt a blow to public-sector unions earlier this summer when it ruled in the Janus case that government employees no longer have to pay fees to their unions. But labor experts say the high level of teacher bargaining in Washington state right now may help unions avoid some of the negative impacts from that case.

Schools in Kent started on time this week after teachers approved a last-minute contract agreement. But the contentious negotiations left many union members feeling frustrated and they’ve voted on a resolution requesting that two school board directors resign.

It was a hot August morning – the height of summer vacation – but two classrooms at Edison Elementary in Centralia were abuzz with activity.

Both the Seattle and Tacoma school districts have said they face future budget shortfalls because the state has set limits on local tax levies. But state Sen. John Braun, a key Republican lawmaker who helped craft the state’s education funding system, defends the levy cap.

(Updated at 10:43 am on Aug. 29, 2018, to add that the Tacoma Education Association says the raise the district is offering is 0.6 percent above what's in the current contract.) Just a day before school is set to start in Kent, the Kent Education Association said on Facebook it has reached a tentative agreement with the school district. The teachers' union had been at odds with district administration and said the district was trying to use money from the state intended for teacher salaries to

Seattle teachers will take a strike authorization vote Tuesday afternoon after failing to reach a tentative contract agreement with the school district. Teachers in other districts in the Puget Sound region, including Stanwood-Camano and Kent, have already voted to authorize strikes.

This is a busy week at the bargaining table for school districts and teachers’ unions. They’re contending with the state’s new education funding system, which one expert says has created some new inequities.

The Kent School Board is preparing to vote Wednesday on a controversial extension of the superintendent’s contract that adds language on conflicts of interest and outside consulting work.