News for Paraprofessionals

The UFT vows to continue fighting tooth and nail to get paraprofessionals the RESPECT they deserve. RESPECT check legislation providing paraprofessionals with a $10,000 payment became law in August, but the battle continues as the city has taken the City Council to court, alleging its vote was illegal.

More than 100 paraprofessionals at an Extended School Year program in Queens who went without pay for five weeks banded together, and with the help of the UFT, finally received the pay due to them. Find out what to do if you suspect your salary is not what it should be.

The UFT explains paraprofessionals' rights and obligations in terms of being absent from work.

Paraprofessionals fanned out across the city in January to sit down with City Council members to urge them to support a revised "RESPECT check" bill that would provide an annual check of no less than $10,000 to the educators whose ranks are suffering a severe crisis in recruitment and retention.

When teachers and paraprofessionals are on the same page, the classroom becomes a place of unity and students are the beneficiaries. Teachers across the city discuss the benefits of forging strong, healthy relationships with the paraprofessionals with whom they work.