DALLAS TWP. — The Dallas Education Association has changed the date for its teachers strike from Feb. 27 to March 24, according to union President Michael Cherinka.

The new date follows a negotiation meeting that abruptly ended when union leaders walked out after reviewing a counter contract proposal Tuesday night.

The Dallas School District teachers have worked without a contract since August 2015. The school board started negotiating with the union in 2014.

The teachers’ union has threatened to strike several times during the 2016-17 school year, setting strike dates for Sept. 28, Oct. 25 and Nov. 23.

Eventually, they began a strike on Nov. 14. The state Department of Education then set a return date of Dec. 13, but teachers remained on strike three more days and returned Dec. 19.

Teachers can strike twice in one school year. The first strike must end in time for the district to complete the state-mandated 180 days of school by June 15, while a second strike must end in time to complete the 180 days by June 30. Once a strike starts, the state calculates how long it can go on before teachers must return to work.

Check back with the Times Leader for updates.

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By Eileen Godin

egodin@timesleader.com

Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews