Instructional materials and class size

As we enter a new school year, teachers should be aware of their rights regarding instructional materials and class size.

Teachers routinely dip into their own pockets to buy the many extras that make learning more exciting for students. On average, classroom, school-based and district teachers spend about $500 a year, according to surveys.

With significant budget cuts to the classroom for the coming school year, principals will be cutting back spending in many areas. Nonetheless, teachers still have a contractual right to basic instructional supplies.

While teachers are the only professionals to routinely spend their own money to assist those they serve, this fact doesn’t excuse the Department of Education from its basic supply responsibility.

Books and supplies

It is your principal’s obligation to provide you with basic instructional supplies and books, including textbooks, paper, chalk, microscopes and math manipulatives. That’s a contractual right, written into Article 7R of the UFT teachers contract, which states that schools are responsible for providing “appropriate and sufficient basic instructional supplies and books to deliver an effective educational program” for students. “Basic instructional supplies and books” are defined as those without which classroom instruction will be impaired.

If you find yourself short of basic supplies, let your chapter leader know. The chapter leader will schedule a special meeting with the principal to try to resolve the issue. At the same time, your chapter leader should notify your district representative to see if he or she can help resolve the matter. If necessary, the union will help you pursue the matter with the chancellor.

In the past, the City Council allocated money for Teacher’s Choice, a program to help defray the cost of supplementary instructional supplies for teachers. Teacher’s Choice, however, was suspended for the 2011-2012 school year, as the Council used its discretionary funds to help avert the layoff of 4,200 teachers.

Class Size

Keeping class sizes within proper limits is not just a professional right to enable you to do your job better; it’s also an educational benefit for students who will receive more individual attention.

Contractual class-size limits vary with the school level, type of class and other factors. Within the first few days of each school year or term, check with your chapter leader to find out if your classes exceed the appropriate class-size maximums. If, after the 10th school day (which this year falls on Sept. 15), your classes exceed those limits, the chapter leader will file a grievance for you. This should be done even if the principal says there is neither the space nor the budget allotment to create smaller and/or more classes.

In addition to contractual limits, the state Legislature and City Council have provided funding annually to reduce class sizes in grades 1, 2 and 3 to levels below the contractual limits. Report your early-grade class size to your chapter leader so the UFT can enforce those caps.

Class-size staffing ratios for students with disabilities are determined by the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) and state education law. Call your borough office if you believe your special education class is oversized.

Note to UFT chapter leaders: Your UFT district representative will be asking you to report your school’s class-size numbers on days 1, 6 and 10 of the new school year. It is extremely important to get accurate information to your district representative on those dates.