Q & A on the issues

These questions and answers were created to address issues arising from this next chapter of the SESIS fight.

If you want a new opportunity, wish to be closer to home or have been placed in excess, the Open Market Transfer Plan gives you the chance to apply for a position at another school. You can view vacancies citywide and submit online applications via the Department of Education website during the Open Market Transfer period, from April 15 to Aug. 7.

The new system, which would move us forward as a profession, will establish specific criteria that incorporate multiple measures of evaluating teacher performance.

On Dec. 10, 2009, Governor Paterson signed into law a bill that preserves the Age 55 retirement benefits for all UFT-represented members of TRS and BERS who join the system after the effective date of the law. The law also lowers the rate of the Fixed Return Program of the Tax Deferred Annuity (TDA) from 8.25 percent to 7 percent for current and future participants of the TDA program as well as for retired members who have deferred TDA accounts.

This Q&A, issued by the DOE, answers questions about the “highly qualified” designation for special education teachers.

This FAQ was created jointly by the DOE and the UFT in 2008 to answer questions from members in the schools selected to participate in the School-wide Performance Bonus Program.