LAUSD is implementing educator displacements, which district officials say are necessary due to low enrollment and tight budgets. Displacements of educators can be destabilizing to students and school communities. Being displaced can be devasting for educators who are forced to leave schools they have put their hearts into.  

It is important to note that when someone is displaced, they do not lose their job and they retain important rights. Refer to the FAQ below. If you believe your rights in displacement are being violated, contact your Area Rep for guidance.

Displacement is a symptom of a bigger problem: the underfunding of our schools. The turmoil of losing a colleague to displacement or being displaced yourself is why we must confront the issue of school funding directly and urgently by:

  • Committing to fight the cuts in LAUSD’s Fiscal Stabilization Plan, which if implemented will lead to major displacement and layoffs next year. 
  • Walking and knocking for Prop 3 in November to secure our current funding and avoid another round of massive cuts.

See your chapter chair to sign the commitment card and to sign up for walking. In the long term, we must force the state to put more money into our schools so that being a few students low in enrollment does not result in losing beloved educators.  

Displacement FAQ

No. When someone is displaced, they do not lose their job with LAUSD — they remain actively employed with the district and will retain their seniority, current salary, health benefits, and any scheduled salary step increases. The displacement will only affect their current assignment. A displaced educator is temporarily assigned as a “contract pool educator” and can apply for any job opening for which they are qualified. It is encouraged to begin applying for jobs as soon as possible once displaced.
An educator will be assigned by LAUSD to a specific school site but may on occasion be directed to report to another school site temporarily.
For elementary schools: 1. The administrator lets the faculty know how many displacements there will be and provides an opportunity for educators to voluntarily displace. 2. If displacements are still necessary after giving the opportunity for voluntary displacements, then displacement is done according to seniority.
For secondary schools: 1. The administrator chooses the impacted program/subject field for displacements. 2. The administrator notifies the impacted program/subject field of how many displacements there will be and gives the opportunity for educators within the designated program/subject field the opportunity to voluntarily displace. 3. If displacements are still necessary after giving the opportunity for voluntary displacements, then displacement is done by seniority within the program/subject field chosen by the administrator. 4. If a secondary teacher is teaching two subjects/departments, the department they are considered a part of is based on where they have taught the majority of their teaching time during the most recent six semesters of regular classroom teacher experience.
For Special Education: 1. The administrator lets the Special Education department know how many displacements there will be and allows Special Education teachers to voluntarily displace. 2. If displacements are still necessary after giving the opportunity for voluntary displacements, then displacement is done by seniority within the Special Education department.
Voluntary displacement is not allowed when the educator has a Below Standard Evaluation or Unsatisfactory Act/Service and/or Suspension within the previous year.
The administrator can choose not to displace a teacher with less seniority if they reasonably determine that the teacher not being displaced has special instructional skills or qualifications needed by the pupils and the educational program at the school and that these skills and qualifications cannot be filled by other senior members of the teaching faculty. If this is in dispute, it is important to reach out to the UTLA Area Representative for guidance.
If the magnet and neighborhood school have different “location codes,” they are treated as different sites. Example: Los Angeles Elementary School has both a neighborhood school and a magnet school on their campus. Say, for example, that based on the ECAST, the magnet school is set to lose a teacher, and the neighborhood (non-magnet) is set to keep all of their staff. In this scenario, the principal should let the magnet school educators know of the upcoming displacement, allow for voluntary displacement, and if no one volunteers, displace the magnet teacher with the least seniority.
After norm day at elementary schools, if a combo class is needed, keep this contract language in mind (Article IX-A, Section 2.0d): “Every effort shall be made to avoid multi-grade classes in the general education program. Should a combination class be created, the site administrator in consultation with the grade-level chair will assign the multi-grade class(es) equitably among teachers assigned to the affected grade levels year-to-year. Priority consideration shall be given to combination classes when assigning paraprofessional support.” In general, Chapter chairs should work collaboratively with the principal to ensure changes are fair and done in a way to minimize disruption to your chapter. Further, LAUSD is still accountable to the class size caps outlined in your contract. If you are concerned with a specific post-norm day change your administrator is proposing, reach out to your UTLA Area representative immediately.