ARTICLE SEVEN

Nov 20, 2006 12:05 PM

ASSIGNMENTS AND COUNSELING CONDITIONS

A. Selection for Available Assignments

Licensed guidance counselors will be given an opportunity to apply for available guidance assignments within the school and selection will be made on the basis of layoff seniority where qualifications are equal.

B. Limitation on Assignments

Counselors shall not be assigned to cover classes, represent the school in lieu of a teacher or supervisor, or perform other duties normally performed by classroom teachers. Counselors shall not be required to schedule and administer large-scale testing programs or to score and record test data resulting from such programs. Counselors shall not be involved in the mechanical details of grade-wide or school-wide programming or grade organization. Counselors shall not be given any administrative assignments such as but not limited to lunch, hall, bus or yard duty. It is recognized that emergency situations may develop because of the unavailability of other school staff. In such situations of emergency, the right of the principal to make an emergency assignment is fully recognized.

C. Conferences with Teachers

Counselors serving in schools shall be permitted, through arrangements made by the head of the school, to meet with classroom teachers during the school day for necessary consultation on guidance matters.

D. Split Assignments

Upon request, a counselor serving in a split assignment shall be reassigned in accordance with his/her layoff seniority to a full position in the district or superintendency or program before a newly hired employee. Such reassignment shall be effectuated at the next reorganization.

E. Regular Part-Time Assignments for Appointed Counselors

1. A limited number of regularly appointed counselors (including counselors on unpaid leaves) may be assigned to less than full-time positions where such an assignment meets a particular need of the school system, including, but not limited to, filling a vacancy where no full-time counselor is available, alleviating a shortage area, or sharing a full-time position with another counselor on unpaid leave. The number of these positions in any school year will be decided jointly by the Board and the Union and awarded on the basis of agreed-upon criteria.

2. Counselors in these positions will be entitled to full health and welfare benefits and pro rata salary (including vacation pay) and pro rata sick leave.

3. Service performed in this program shall be considered for all seniority and salary credit consistent with current Board policy.

4. The Board and the Union shall seek appropriate legislation, where necessary to secure pension rights.

5. All provisions of this Agreement shall apply except Articles Six A (Hours of Work), Nineteen (Rates of Pay and Working Conditions of Per Session Counselors), Twenty (Counselors Assigned), and Twenty-One (Schools and Programs with Modified Work Schedules).

F. Basic Instructional Supplies

The Board and the Union agree that schools should provide appropriate and sufficient basic instructional supplies and books to deliver an effective educational program. Basic instructional supplies and books are those that must be provided for use by students without which classroom instruction will be impaired.

In the event a member or members of the faculty believe that such supplies and books are not available to students and faculty, the chapter may request a meeting with the principal. Upon the request of the chapter leader, the principal shall meet with the UFT chapter committee to resolve the issue. If no resolution is achieved at the school level, the district representative and the appropriate superintendent will meet within five (5) school days to attempt to resolve it. If they are unable to do so, the dispute will be forwarded by the Union to the Chancellor for his prompt review and response.

G. Involvement in Planning

1. Counselors will be involved in the planning of the school's guidance program.

2. Counselors in the department, and Union-designated committees of counselors in the district, program and high school superintendency shall be consulted in planning the agenda for their staff meetings.

H. Return from Leave

Counselors who return from a leave of one year or less shall be returned to the school or facility where they served at the time of the leave, in accordance with their seniority. The return shall be effectuated at the next reorganization unless the superintendent permits an earlier return.

I. Guidance Counselors Serving as Education Evaluators*

1. Education evaluators shall have a continuous workday of six hours and forty minutes exclusive of lunch, which shall be not less than thirty minutes per day and no longer than the lunch period at the school or facility in which they are serving. Such workday shall be scheduled to start no earlier than 8:00 A.M. and to end no later than 4:00 P.M.

The workday of employees selected for after-school per session positions may be scheduled to start before 8 a.m. on days necessary to assure timely arrival of the employee at the per session site.

The preference of the employee shall not be unreasonably denied. If denied, the reason shall be set forth in writing to the employee.

2. Effective September 2002, education evaluators and guidance counselors are required to attend open school nights and faculty conferences.

3. A counselor who requests a return to his/her former position within one year after being initially assigned as an education evaluator shall be reassigned to his/her former superintendency in accordance with seniority.

4. Education evaluators shall have the right to return within one year from a leave to their assignment in accordance with their seniority.

5. One of the five (5) days per year of menu-driven staff development currently available to school psychologists, school social workers and education evaluators shall be designated systemwide on a day when students are not scheduled to attend school. The joint UFT/Board Committee on Staff Development will determine the programs that are available.

J. Workload Disputes

Upon receiving a written complaint from a guidance counselor regarding an existing workload, the principal or his/her designee shall meet with the employee making the complaint, and his/her representative, and reach a determination within five (5) school days. If the complaint is not resolved, the chapter leader may forward it to the appropriate superintendent, within five (5) school days of the determination, for review.

If a timely request for review is received by the superintendent, s/he shall designate a representative to jointly investigate with a UFT appointed representative the workload that is alleged to be inappropriate. The two representatives will then submit recommendations to the Superintendent for his/her written determination, which shall be made within (10) school days of receipt of the recommendation(s).

The UFT shall have the right to appeal the superintendent's determination to the Chancellor within five (5) school days of the Superintendent's written determination of the complaint, or if the Superintendent does not timely render a determination, to seek review at the Chancellor's level within forty-five (45) days of the principal's receipt of the original written complaint, whichever is earlier. Such appeal shall contain a detailed written statement of the reasons for dissatisfaction with the Superintendent's determination. The Chancellor or his/her designee shall review the workload complaint and make a final determination, not subject to further review, within fifteen (15) school days of receipt of the appeal.