You Should Know - School Counselors

Use your personal email for all union business: DO NOT use your DOE email address to conduct union business. To do so is a violation of the DOE's internet policy. All email correspondence about grievances and other union activities should be conducted using a non-DOE personal email address.

Teachers' tenure framework is not for functional chapter members: Functional chapter members, including school counselors, should be aware that principals may not use the teacher tenure framework as a rubric to assess functional chapter members' performance or make tenure decisions. The tenure framework only applies to tenure decisions for classroom teachers. If you have questions, please contact Rosemarie Thompson at rthompson@uft.org.

SESIS — Check here for the latest information on SESIS arbitration.

Important information and DOE memos

• Principal's Weekly guidance on administrative assignments — May 14, 2019
• Guidance on Advisory and Who Teaches It
• Salary schedules for proposed 2009-18 contract
• Rating Sheet: Annual Professional Performance Review and Report on Probationary Service of Guidance Counselor
• Repurposed time and school counselor hours
• What every chapter leader should know about school counselors
• Contract Article 7: Assignments and Counseling Conditions
• School counselor workload dispute form and guide
• Chancellor's Memorandum #45, 1987-1988: Provisions for School Staff
  Important information to supplement Article 14 of the Guidance Counselors Contract.
• Role of the Pupil Personnel Committee

Important arbitration wins

• Guidelines for DOE employees in excess who are rotating week to week
• "Cascade" Agreement: Excessing Rules of School Counselors and Social Workers
• Coverage Arbitration
  The UFT in August 2011 won an important grievance filed on behalf of guidance counselors at a Queens middle school who were forced by their principal to cover for the teacher assigned to their school’s SAVE room, instead of meeting with students that they were supposed to be counseling.

Important news

• Student goal-setting must be done during workday
  Following a stipulation brokered by the state labor board, the Department of Education has reminded principals that teachers do not have to work on student goal-setting outside the school day.
• Student Goal-Setting
  Following a matter before the Public Employment Relations Board, the UFT has asked that the DOE remind you about the guidelines for student goal-setting.
• Student Support Team
  Pupil Personnel Services from the New York State Education Department the the Pupil Personnel Services Advisory Committee