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Ballot papers are being posted out to members as part of a dispute over teacher workload.
EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said the vote came almost a year since a deadline passed for the Scottish Government and council employers to deliver on commitments made to teachers over both recruitment and the time they spend in lessons.
But it also comes less than a month after an earlier ballot for strike action failed to win a mandate, as less then half of eligible members took part.
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While 85.9% of EIS members who voted first time round backed strike action, less than 47% of the union’s membership took part in the ballot, leaving it unable to take industrial action.
At the time that result was announced, Bradley hit out at the “excessively strict thresholds” required under current UK law for strikes to go ahead, saying that this “highly restrictive element of trade union legislation” is soon to be repealed by Westminster.
Speaking as the ballot got under way, she urged teachers to “cast their vote as quickly as possible to ensure that their vote is counted and that their voice and the voice of every eligible EIS member is heard in this democratic process”.
The EIS general secretary added: “Teachers have been waiting five long years for the Scottish Government and local authorities to deliver promised actions to reduce teacher workload and to create more jobs for qualified teachers.
“Prior to the last Scottish election, in 2021, the current Scottish Government pledged to reduce excessive teacher workload by recruiting 3,500 additional teachers and reducing teachers’ maximum class contact commitment to 21 hours per week. None of these commitments have been met.
“This ballot is an important opportunity, especially as we approach the next election, for teachers to hold the politicians to account, and to compel them to act on delivering their promises to Scotland’s teachers and Scottish education.”
Hitting out at both the Scottish Government and the local government body Cosla, she said: “We are precisely one day short of a full year since, in the face of growing discontent by teachers, the Scottish Government and Cosla were due to deliver a firm set of proposals on the delivery of the promises made to teachers.
“It is time to call national and local politicians out on their joint failure to deliver, with a resounding ballot result from Scotland’s teachers.”
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth however insisted the outcome of the original ballot “showed that EIS members see discussions rather than industrial action as the best way of reaching agreement on reducing class contact time”.
Gilruth added: “Regardless of the outcome of these ballots, we hope these discussions will continue to reach an agreed position on how to free up teacher time so we can focus on reducing workload and improving educational outcomes for children.
“People getting round the table is the way to resolve matters and reach a common agreement.”
Cosla resources spokesperson Ricky Bell meanwhile said it was “disappointing that the EIS continue to seek a mandate for strike action which will disrupt learning at a crucial time of year.”
While he said cutting class contact time for teachers had been a commitment made by the Scottish Government, he added councils “recognise the workload pressures on teachers alongside all council staff who carry out vital work for our communities day in, day out”.
Bell continued: “Cosla has been working in good faith with the teaching unions and Scottish Government on this for some time with a commitment to making meaningful progress.
“Throughout this, we have been pragmatic and sought to develop potential routes to implementation which take into consideration the impact of reducing teachers’ contact time on pupil learning and on public finances.”
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Cutting the amount of time teaches spend in class could cost an extra £250 to £310 million a year, Cosla has estimated.
And Bell said: “It must be recognised that this would come at a cost to already hard-up councils which can only be met by Scottish Government.”
Stressing that “Cosla places a priority on what is best for children’s outcomes” he said they would “continue discussions constructively with the teaching unions and Scottish Government to explore how further progress can be made with current resource constraints in mind”.