September 2004
Update on the IEP Teacher Transfer Opportunity
Many former education evaluators have called and inquired about where the IEP teacher vacancies are and how they can get a position. In the negotiations that led to the October 2003 Memorandum of Agreement, the Department of Education agreed to a "one-time" opportunity for former Education Evaluators who could not get the position in their school to transfer to a school where the IEP teacher position was vacant. The Department of Education has failed to make that opportunity available.
We reported in June that we were at odds with the Department on the definition of a vacancy for this transfer opportunity but that they assured us that a plan would come out during July. That never happened.
The Union initiated a grievance at Step 3 over the Department's failure to post the plan and on the DOE's attempt to limit the number of vacancies they would post. The grievance was heard at Step 3. We are awaiting a decision but don't really expect a resolution until we get to arbitration sometime this school year. We fully expect to win this grievance at arbitration.
In practical terms, this means that former Education Evaluators who could not get a position in their school last year will have to wait another year before getting the opportunity to transfer to a school with an IEP teacher position they could fill. It also means that there is no list of schools with IEP teacher vacancies and that principals are filling the positions in their schools with administrative transfers and new hires. We will seek to have all these positions listed as vacancies when the transfer plan is finally published.
What should have been a simple fine-tuning of the system to ensure that former Education Evaluators were able to move to where their experience is needed to fill the IEP teacher position effectively will now be a much greater change for the system when it takes place.
We will continue to push for a prompt resolution to the grievance and for a meaningful transfer opportunity for those former Education Evaluators who are still seeking IEP teacher positions.
We will keep you posted as events develop.
Marc S. Korashan
Special Representative
