ARTICLE FIVE

Jan 26, 2007 2:59 PM

LICENSURE, ASSIGNMENT AND APPOINTMENT

A. Regularized Licensure

The Board of Education shall provide for the regular licensure of psychologist and social worker personnel consistent with the needs of the instructional program and subject to applicable law and the by-laws of the Board of Education. The Board will take the following actions.

The Board has established regular licenses valid for service as a psychologist or a social worker under regular appointment, or for day to day per diem service, or for full-term assignment, or for other service as a psychologist or a social worker, including bilingual service. All positions will be filled by persons holding such regular licenses except under the following circumstances:

1. Where a position must be filled to provide the services of a psychologist or a social worker for which no person holding such regular license is immediately available after all efforts have been made to fill the position by a person holding such regular license;
2. Where the kind of psychologist or social worker work is not normally performed in the public schools and is temporary in nature.

B. Provisional Employees

1. A Certified Provisional employee (CP) is a person who has not yet been appointed, who holds a New York State provisional or permanent certificate, a New York City regular license or a New York City substitute license issued on or before June 30, 1969. CPs do not require annual renomination.
2. A Preparatory Provisional employee (PP) is a person who has not yet completed all the requirements for New York State provisional certification, but who holds a New York State temporary license. Pursuant to Commissioner’s regulations, a PP will be eligible for annual renomination for a state temporary license for a period of three years provided that for each year of service the PP has been rated satisfactory and has shown progress toward state provisional certification. For any PP who satisfies these conditions the Chancellor will seek state renomination.
3. Appointments and assignments to positions shall be made in accordance with State education law, Commissioner’s regulations and applicable Board of Education regulations and provisions of this agreement. Appointments shall be made from eligible lists of persons holding regular licenses. After all available persons with regular licenses have been appointed and where positions still remain vacant or arise during the course of the school term, Certified Provisionals shall have priority for any assignment. Where no Certified Provisional is available for assignment, Preparatory Provisional will be eligible for such assignment.

Except in cases of emergency, any CP or PP employed to fill a full term or balance of term assignment will be retained for at least the duration of that term.

C. Assignment During First Fifteen Days

An employee who is assigned during the first fifteen (15) days of the school term to a position which is expected to be vacant for that term shall serve under the terms and conditions of this Agreement which would be applicable if a regular substitute employee were serving in that position.

D. Withdrawal of Resignation and Subsequent Reemployment

1. Requests for withdrawal of resignation on the part of employees who attained permanent tenure prior to their resignation shall be effectuated, subject only to medical examination and the approval of the Chancellor, provided that application for such withdrawal of resignation is made on or before the opening of school in September next following five years after the effective date of resignation. In all other cases of withdrawal of resignation, the requirements of former Section 255 of the Board of Education by-laws shall continue in effect.
2. Employees who resign and subsequently are reemployed following the effectuation of their request to withdraw resignation shall be placed in the salary step at which they were at the time of resignation and shall be given the sick leave bank and sabbatical leave rights which they held at the time of resignation.

E. Absence Without Notice

Employees who are absent for 20 consecutive school days without notice shall be deemed to have resigned unless they have reasonable cause for failure to notify. The issue of the reasonableness of the cause and the penalty, if any, shall be subject to the grievance procedure, including binding arbitration, set forth in Article Sixteen.

F. Return to Former License of Appointment

To open more opportunities to serve in the New York City public schools, and to encourage the use of shortage area licenses, the parties have agreed to the following system for license reversion, which supplements the existing procedure. This new system requires application and approval to revert to a former license and appointment. Except in unusual cases, approval will not be given to change from a shortage to a non-shortage license area. However, pedagogues serving in agreed-upon shortage areas may apply under Section 248 of the Chancellor’s Regulations to revert to a former license and appointment.

Except for pedagogues serving in agreed-upon shortage areas, pedagogues who have been previously appointed under different license(s) may apply to serve under any such license(s) according to the following guidelines:

1. The former license was validated by serving one year satisfactorily under that license and is still valid, and
2. The most recent three years of active service have been rated satisfactory, and
3. A vacancy in the school, district or city exists in the former license. A pedagogue whose application to return to a former license is approved will be placed at the next reorganization in a vacant position in the same school or program in which he/she is serving. If no such vacancy exists he/she will be placed in a vacancy in the same community school district or superintendency. If no vacancy exists in the community school district or superintendency, the Division of Human Resources will place the pedagogue in a vacancy in the city.

For the purpose of this provision, a vacancy is defined as an unencumbered position, an anticipated vacancy, or a position currently held by a substitute.

A pedagogue who returns to a former license must serve a minimum of two school years in the license before being eligible to apply again under this provision.

A pedagogue who reverts to a license in an agreed-upon shortage area pursuant to this provision has the right to return to the license from which he/she reverted after at least two years of service in the shortage area.