Raise the Bar

In 2009, the UFT began its “There is NO EXCUSE” campaign to ensure that students with IEPs were receiving all the services and support to which they were entitled. We are continuing that work and taking it to the next level with the Raise the Bar campaign: we want to make sure that kids are not just getting the services they are mandated to get, but actually getting the support they need to succeed.

Special education programs exist to ensure that all of our city’s children, including those with disabilities and challenges, have the opportunity for an education and the chance to reach their full potential. There are federal, state and city laws, regulations and procedures in place to ensure that special ed students get the assistance and services they need and deserve. The UFT is committed to a proactive approach to making sure kids get what they need.

Over 3,190 special ed complaints have been filed since the launch of the NO EXCUSE campaign, which brought critical attention to the needs of IEP students, educated parents and engaged teachers and related service providers as advocates for children. Raise the Bar continues that work. As before, we are asking all UFT members and parents to report any violation you see. But we are doing more than that. We are asking if students are progressing to meet their grade-level standards and meeting the goals spelled out on their IEPs. If not, we need to demand that IEP teams be reconvened and new plans put in place so that children can actually succeed.

Take Action

• Display and distribute the campaign materials. Your chapter leader has flyers, bookmarks and stickers for the Raise the Bar campaign. She or he also has copies of a flyer for parents.
• Report violations and encourage colleagues to do the same. You can file a special ed complaint online; you can also download print versions of the form; and you can file a complaint over the phone. All three options are found here.
• Let the union know if your Children First Network (CFN) is providing the support your school needs to help its special ed students succeed. If it’s not, please use the special ed complaint form to report the problem; check the “other” box and describe the issues that concern you in the space provided.