The UFT asks the court to dismiss the Mamdani Administration's challenge to the paraprofessional respect check law
The United Federation of Teachers today urged the New York State Supreme Court to dismiss a mayoral lawsuit that seeks to block a one-time $10,000 payment to public school paraprofessionals.
New York City Council enacted a local law this summer mandating the one-time payment to the school aides, who provide a wide range of services in the schools, particularly to special education students. While Mayor Mamdani supported the measure during his campaign, his administration has since filed suit to stop the law.
The UFT was granted the right to intervene in the lawsuit and now seeks to have the city's challenge dismissed.
“Because of the low pay, the city's public schools have more than 8,000 paraprofessional vacancies this school year. This means that thousands of our most vulnerable students are going without the services that they are legally entitled to. The City Council took legislative action to address this emergency and stabilize the workforce. This law has one mission: attracting and keeping enough paraprofessionals in our schools to serve our kids. That mission is what the Mayor is suing to stop. We are asking the court to dismiss the mayor's lawsuit," said Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers.
The law, known as the Paraprofessional Respect Check law, was enacted to "facilitate recruitment and retention for a largely minority workforce of exceptionally hard-to-recruit paraprofessionals," the motion states.
Paraprofessionals' low salary has led to an exodus of these critical employees and resulted in a 160% increase in the reliance on substitute paras - as shown by the rise in the number of days subs worked between the 2014-25 school year and the 2024-25 school year, the motion states.
The UFT motion argues the City Council has the authority to act in such an emergency to address what was "either long-standing Executive Branch neglect or indifference to the plight of disabled public-school students." To curb the City Council's authority in such an emergency only seeks "to undermine, if not eliminate, a critical check and balance often vital in these circumstances."
During his campaign for Mayor, Zohran Mamdani supported an annual recurring $10,000 payment for paraprofessionals, whose current starting pay is roughly $33,000 a year.
"After the Mayor’s election, his Administration nonetheless pursued the inaction of his predecessors, continuing the hazards to disabled students. The City Council thus determined to address the basic issue—the plight and needs of disabled public-school students and how to best address them," the filing states.
The Council's paraprofessional Respect Check law was crafted to "encourage collective bargaining" and sunset if City Hall and the UFT reach a permanent negotiated agreement. The filing also states that the city lacks legal standing to bring a lawsuit involving employees of the Board of Education because “the city and the Board remain separate legal entities."