ARTICLE TWELVE

SCHOOL RETENTION AND EXCESSING

A.  Retention

Paraprofessionals shall be retained in their school or work site in accordance with their seniority.  If excessing occurs because of lack of work, the least senior employee will be excessed from the school or site, except that he/she may be retained only if and so long as he/she meets any of the following requirements for the program, and no paraprofessional with greater seniority meets such requirements:

1. Special competence in the particular program by reason of at least sixty hours of special training, required in the specifications for the program;

2. Special knowledge or skills, such as bilingual proficiency or competence in such subject areas as mathematics, reading, music or art, as required in the specifications for the program;

3. Fifteen or more college credits, acquired through career training, necessary for his/her duties in the program and prescribed in the specifications for the program.

 

B.  Unique Programs

A paraprofessional serving in a unique program which is moved to another site will be moved with the program unless the paraprofessional expresses a preference to remain at the same site and the superintendent approves.

 

C.  Paraprofessionals with Bilingual Proficiency

Paraprofessionals with bilingual proficiency in a designated citywide shortage language area who were assigned to a school to meet the particular language needs of students may be excessed when those students leave the building or no longer require bilingual services.  If excessed for either of these reasons, they will have a right of return to the school or district they were excessed from at the next reorganization following the excessing, if a vacancy exists in their shortage language area.  If there is more than one paraprofessional with the particular bilingual proficiency in the school, excessing shall take place in inverse order of seniority.  Excessing shall be to a vacancy in their shortage language area in their district, except for those paraprofessionals who were notified in writing when hired that they could be assigned as needed to meet the language needs of students system-wide, in which case, they can be excessed to an available vacancy in their shortage language area outside of their district (if no vacancy in their shortage language area exists within their district).  However, excessing to shortage language area vacancies outside of a district shall be to the same borough if available.

If there is no vacancy in their shortage language area paraprofessionals with bilingual proficiency shall have the retention and layoff rights contained in Articles 12A and 13A of this Agreement.

 

D.  Placement of Excessed Paraprofessionals

Unless a principal denies the placement, an excessed paraprofessional will be placed by the Board into a vacancy within his/her district/superintendency; or if such a vacancy is not available, then in a vacancy within his/her region, or if such a vacancy is not available then in a vacancy in the same borough, and if such a vacancy is not available then in a vacancy citywide. The Board will place the excessed paraprofessional who is not so placed in an Alternate Paraprofessional Reserve (APR) position in the school from which he/she is excessed, or in another school in the same district or superintendency.  

Paraprofessionals identified as being at risk of being excessed at the commencement of the following school year will be informed of this no later than June 15, or as soon as is practicable if identified as being at risk of excess after June 15. The deadlines for excessing will continue to be governed by applicable law.

A paraprofessional who has been excessed to another school may request an opportunity to return to the school from which he/she was excessed if within a year a vacancy should occur in that school.  Such a request will have priority over any other transfer or appointment to that vacancy, and it shall be effectuated at the next reorganization of the school to which the paraprofessional is returning, except that should the vacancy occur within ten school days after the paraprofessional is excessed, he/she shall be informed of the vacancy and he/she may return to the school immediately.