The United Federation of Teachers

ARTICLE SEVEN

Jan 26, 2007 3:09 PM

ASSIGNMENTS AND FACILITIES OF PSYCHOLOGISTS AND SOCIAL WORKERS

A. Posting Assignments

A copy of the current social worker and psychologist assignments will be posted in each superintendency.

B. Assignments in a Superintendency

  1. Open assignments occurring in a superintendency shall be filled by employees assigned to the superintendency on the basis of seniority where qualifications are equal. The list of open assignments shall be made available by May 20th.
  2. Open assignments of psychologists and social workers within a superintendency occurring throughout the year will be filled on a temporary basis subject to being filled at the next reorganization as provided in paragraph 1 above.
  3. After all SBST staff have been assigned to SBST positions in a superintendency, other psychologists and social workers in the superintendency may apply for and shall be assigned to SBST openings on the basis of seniority where qualifications are equal.
  4. After related service providers have been assigned to Related Service positions in a superintendency, SBST staff in the superintendency may apply for and shall be assigned to other school social worker and school psychologist openings on the basis of seniority where qualifications are equal.
  5. The Allocation Committee will meet once a year. The clustering process will continue at the district/superintendency level. The appropriate Superintendent will have final approval of clusters and appeals.
  6. The current procedure for permanent redeployment will continue at the superintendency level. Within five days of receipt of requests for permanent redeployment by the office of the Superintendent and after consultation with the UFT Chapter Leader, notification of approval of permanent changes in deployment will be given to the CSE Chairperson or High School District Manager. The appropriate Superintendent will have final approval of permanent redeployment.
  7. A list of all psychologists and social workers shall be posted by discipline, by title/license, in seniority order at the CSE/CSU office in a place to be determined between the Chairperson/High School District Manager and the UFT Chapter Leader. The list will indicate who is eligible to be redeployed each month, who was redeployed, and the dates on and schools to which they were redeployed. In addition to the posted list, a copy will be given to the UFT Chapter Leader at the beginning of each month starting in October. A copy will be maintained on file in the Chairperson’s/District Manager’s office.

During the third week of the month the Chairperson/District Manager will determine which staff members are eligible for temporary redeployment for the following month. The list will be distributed to staff by the first of the month. SBST members may be temporarily redeployed only if doing so would not require that someone else, in the same license/title, be redeployed into that school during the same month. A situation may arise which would necessitate temporarily redeploying an SBST member that would result in a redeployment into the school during the same month. This temporary redeployment may only occur after consultation with the UFT Chapter Leader.

SBST members on the temporary redeployment eligible list who are willing to volunteer for temporary redeployment during the month will notify the Chairperson/District Manager by the fifth day of the month. Those individuals who volunteer shall be the first to be redeployed. The staff on the list who do not volunteer will be redeployed, only as needed, in inverse seniority order. Eligible individuals who were redeployed in the prior month may be redeployed again only after individuals who were not redeployed in the prior month.

Voluntary redeployments count as redeployments and should be recorded on the posted list. All temporary redeployments must be put in writing. This includes voluntary redeployments. The written notice should indicate specific tasks (e.g., specific students to be assessed or conferenced) and must be given to the SBST member a week in advance so that their schedule may be adjusted appropriately, except in extraordinary circumstances, when the notice time may be shortened.

An SBST member may not be redeployed more than three days in any month.

There should be no redeployment of SBST staff into the CSE Review Team. However, if a short-term absence (e.g. illness, jury duty) occurs on a CSE Review Team, the CSE Chairperson must follow procedures for filling the position identical to those utilized in SBST redeployment.

If there is a reasonable expectation that the regularly assigned CSE Review Team member will be absent for more than two months, the position should be posted throughout the superintendency. The posting should clearly state that the duration of the assignment is until the return of the absent member or the end of the current three year term for that position, whichever occurs first.

C. Research Projects

The Board agrees that a psychologist or social worker will not be required to participate as a subject in a research project without prior consultation with the Chapter.

D. Additional Facilities

  1. Adequate supplies will be made available in washrooms in regional offices.
  2. In regional offices located in school buildings, a vending machine for beverages shall be installed at the request of the particular regional staff.
  3. The Board shall issue parking display cards to identify automobiles of employees who visit several schools or other Board facilities during the course of their work.

E. Per Session Assignments

  1. Psychologists and social workers shall be selected for and retrenched from per session positions on the basis of agreed criteria which include preference for appointees vis a vis substitutes, seniority and sharing of per session opportunities among volunteers over the course of a year.
  2. The Stipulation of Settlement of Case Nos. U-8532 and U-8608 dated August 28, 1987 is incorporated herein.
  3. Employees shall be informed of the appeals process set forth in the Stipulation of Settlement whenever such procedures may be invoked in accordance with the terms of the Stipulation of Settlement.
  4. Before employing any per session applicant who is not a full-time psychologist or social worker employed by the Board, the Board will offer per session work to all full-time psychologists and social workers who have been rated satisfactory for the preceding rating period.
  5. Unused sick leave is not cumulative from one school year to another school year nor from one per session activity to another per session activity, but shall be transferred to the psychologist’s or social worker’s regular cumulative absence reserve.
  6. The hourly pay rate applicable to psychologists and social workers shall be 1.075 times the teacher per session rate.
  7. In order to achieve greater efficiency and reduce the backlog and the need for per session in the assessment process of children being referred to or already placed in special education, the parties agree that beginning with the 1998-99 school year the following shall apply for School Based Support Team/Committee on Special Educatiion activities for school social workers, school psychologists and education evaluators:

a. For after school per session, priority of assignment for a position in a superintendency shall be given to staff assigned to the superintendency in seniority order, and then to staff assigned to citywide programs located within the geographic boundaries of the superintendency.

In the case of after-school per session positions in a high school superintendency, priority for after-school per session positions will be given to employees assigned to the high school superintendency, including those assigned to alternative high schools located within the geographic boundaries of the high school superintendency.

b. Applicants for after-school per session positions must be available to work a minimum of two afternoons per week for the duration of the assignment.

c. Employees shall bring work with them from their regular workday in order to complete such work during their per session employment to the extent that time is available.

d. When per session is required to reduce a backlog in assessments, educational planning conferences (EPCs) and CSE reviews will be scheduled during per session when the Superintendent determines it is desirable and feasible to do so in order to maximize the time available during the school day for student evaluations.

e. The Superintendent shall schedule per session work to begin and end on such dates that meet the needs of the district or superintendency, and may reduce or eliminate per session assignments to meet such needs. The employee shall receive five days’ notice of any such reduction or elimination of the position, which shall be made in reverse seniority order. If the position is restored during the per session cycle, the employees shall be returned to the per session activity in seniority order without the need for posting. Where priority for selection was made on a geographic basis, the same geographic basis shall be used in retrenchment and restoration of positions. The Superintendent may redeploy a per session employee within the superintendency, to meet the needs of the activity.

f. For summer per session, staff who completed the equivalent of one month (20 days) of satisfactory service in both the Summer 1997 and Summer 1998 School Based Support Team/Committee on Special Education (SBST/CSE) Activity, shall have the opportunity to claim retention to future SBST/CSE Summer Activities in the superintendency where service was rendered. If the equivalent of one month of summer service was rendered in different superintendencies each summer, then the member shall have the opportunity to claim retention to any one of these superintendencies. The service requirement to earn retention rights shall not be deemed interrupted by an approved leave of absence, sabbatical or by other mitigating circumstances acceptable to the Board. Article 15C2 of the collective bargaining agreement covering Teachers shall apply to the retention rights of these staff.

g. After the awarding of summer positions based upon retention, priority for summer positions in the superintendency shall be given to staff assigned to the superintendency in seniority order and then to staff from other superintendencies in seniority order.

h. For weeked per session, staff who completed a minimum of ten (10) days of weekend service in the school year 1997-98 SBST/CSE Per Session Activity shall have the opportunity to claim retention to the superintendency in which service was rendered. After the awarding of weekend positions based upon retention, priority for weekend positions in the superintendency shall be given to staff assigned to the superintendency in seniority order and then to staff from other superintendencies in seniority order.

It is understood that a member may claim retention to the superintendency if the minimum of ten days of weekend per session service was rendered in one superintendency. It is further understood that if the minimum of ten days of weekend per session service during the 1997-98 school-year was rendered in different superintendencies the member may claim retention to a superintendency (i.e., any one of these superintendencies) by the agreed upon date.

Staff must claim their retention rights to the superintendency by utilizing Form OP-175. A claim for retention for this staff must be received by an agreed upon date.

There will be no awarding of retention rights except as provided above, based on service rendered in 1997 and/or 1998 and claimed by the agreed upon date.

F. Split Assignments

Upon request, a psychologist or social worker 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.

G. Return From Leave

School psychologists and school social workers will have the right to return within one year from leave to their assignment within the district, in accordance with their seniority.

H. Regular Part-Time Assignments for Appointed Social Workers and Psychologists

  1. A limited number of regularly appointed social workers and psychologists (including employees 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 psychologist or social worker is available, alleviating a shortage area, or sharing a full-time position with another psychologist or social worker 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. Social workers and psychologists 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 Article Six (Hours of Psychologists and Social Workers), Article Seven E (Per Session Assignments), Article Nineteen (Working Conditions and Benefits Applicable to Mental Health Workers), Article Twenty (Working Conditions of Per Diem Substitutes), and Article Twenty-One A (Chapter 683 Program).