Mayor makes unnecessary and damaging cuts to school funding

Mayor Eric Adams today announced a 5% cut to the DOE’s overall budget while making good on another threat to claw back $109 million from schools where enrollment decreased this school year. That means 653 schools — 43% of all schools — will be hit with midyear budget cuts. “These are unnecessary budget cuts to our public schools,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “They are driven by City Hall's false political narrative that New York City is about to fall off a fiscal cliff.” City revenues are, in fact, higher than expected, the city’s reserves are at a near-record high, and state aid has increased. “At a time when Albany has sent more money to New York City and has sought to correct a decades-long inequity by passing a law to lower New York City class sizes, City Hall is undermining that work by reducing support to students, educators and school communities,” Mulgrew said. We will be mobilizing to fight these damaging budget cuts and expose their harm to our students.

UFT able to negotiate a new bilingual/ENL incentive program

Because New York City public schools have enrolled more than 20,000 asylum-seeking children, many of whom do not speak English, the UFT was able to negotiate a new incentive program and certification changes to expand the number of bilingual education and ENL teachers in our schools. Thanks to the UFT’s advocacy, the state and city education departments have eased requirements for bilingual and ENL certifications, and teachers with secondary certifications in ENL and bilingual education who switch will receive a $5,000 incentive to teach in those license areas to help meet the growing need. Any teacher who switches this school year will receive the incentive. These teachers will receive a waiver so they will not sacrifice tenure or lose seniority, and they will not face a one-year probation period as had been the case for decades. The bonus will be paid annually as long as the educator teaches ENL or bilingual education. The UFT will sponsor an event for the roughly 600 teachers who are eligible for the incentive to answer their questions and initiate the process for switching to ENL or bilingual education.

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Teachers may apply to become teacher leaders

Tell teachers at your school that starting on Monday, Dec. 11, they can apply to become a teacher leader for the 2024-25 school year. The 2014 DOE-UFT contract created instructional leadership roles for teachers that provide additional compensation (a $7,500 stipend for model teachers and a $12,500 stipend for peer collaborative teachers) for their time and commitment and year-long professional learning.

• Now through Dec. 14, on Tuesdays at 3 p.m. and on Wednesdays at 4 p.m., teachers can attend the DOE’s virtual informational sessions (Zoom link and passcode: 028610) featuring current teacher leaders.
• Teachers may also book a chat directly with a current teacher leader through Jan. 2 to learn more about the position. Select the link on the teacher leader flier.
• Eligibility criteria will be posted on the Teacher Career Pathways website on Dec. 5, with the application form to follow by Dec. 11.

Applications must be submitted by March 20, 2024. Here's the teacher leader flier to post on your UFT bulletin board.

Determine if PROSE is right for your school

If you work in a school that is highly collaborative and has innovative practices, you may be interested in becoming a Progressive Redesign Opportunity Schools for Excellence (PROSE) school. PROSE schools may change the UFT contract and DOE regulations to create educator-led, community-driven innovations. The UFT is now accepting applications from schools interested in joining the PROSE program in fall 2024. If your school is interested in applying, please register for a virtual information session on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 3:30 p.m.

In the interim, check out the PROSE section of the UFT website. A PROSE school liaison would be happy to set up a meeting with your school. Contact PROSE@uft.org to request a visit or ask questions. The earlier your application is received, the sooner it will be reviewed by the panel. The deadline to submit an application is Friday, March 29, 2024. Applications are reviewed and approved on a rolling basis by the PROSE panel.  Here are links to the application template, rubric and program brochure.

New guidance for substitute teachers filling long-term vacancies

As part of the new contract, we finalized new guidance with the DOE this week to ensure that eligible per diem substitute teachers serving in long-term positions receive the higher pay rate and benefits to which they are entitled. If a school hires a substitute teacher to fill a vacancy (for example, if an appointed teacher resigns in late August) within the first 15 days of the year, or if the substitute teacher serves in a vacancy for two months or longer, the per diem sub should be re-coded as Q status. Once coded as Q status, teachers will receive the regular full-time salary (up to step 4A), become eligible for health benefits, earn vacation pay for the summer and accrue sick leave. Per diem substitutes are also eligible for Q status if they cover for a teacher on a leave of absence, work a minimum of two months and finish the school year in that role. For example, if a math teacher takes a leave of absence from March 1 to the end of the school year and a substitute fills in, the substitute is eligible for Q status (and possibly Z status in the interim). If the substitute fills in for a teacher who returns before the end of the school year, the substitute is ineligible for Q status (but may still be eligible for Z status).

Please check in with your school’s substitute teachers and make sure they are being paid the right way.

See the new guidance