More than a third of all New York City public schools are lacking curriculum in at least one core subject, according to a new UFT survey of chapter leaders.

Of the 940 chapter leaders who filled out the survey, 338 reported that not all teachers in their school have yearlong or semester-long curriculum in math, social studies, English language arts, science and foreign languages.

“This survey has confirmed the magnitude of the problem,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew, who launched the survey at the Sept. 14 citywide chapter leader meeting. “We now have the data that shows without question that the Department of Education is failing to meet its obligations to our students and teachers.”

Union officials presented the survey findings and called for action to be taken to remedy the problem at a consultation meeting with Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña in early October.

Under the 2014 UFT-DOE contract, the DOE is required to provide teachers with appropriate yearlong or semester-long curriculum aligned with the state standards in all five core subjects. When principals charge teachers with the task of creating curriculum, it takes time away from instruction and burdens teachers with excessive paperwork — another violation of the UFT-DOE contract, Mulgrew said.

Curriculum is defined as:

1. a list of content and topics;
2. scope and sequence; and
3. a list of what students are expected both to know and be able to do after studying each topic.

A curriculum is not a pacing calendar, just a scope and sequence, a teacher’s guide or a unit plan.

Although the DOE has posted curriculum in all five core subjects on its website for schools, many principals fail to provide it to their teaching staff, Mulgrew noted.

According to the survey results, the lack of curriculum cuts across all five core subjects, with the problem most acute in science and social studies [see chart].

Of all the chapter leaders who completed the survey, 27.2 percent reported an absence of crriculum in two or more core suhjects. Chapter leaders from 77 schools — about 8 percent of the chapter leaders who filled out the survey — reported that their school lacks curriculum in all five core subjects. Removing foreign languages from the equation, an additional 25 elementary schools reported that they lacked curriculum in the other four core subjects.

Just over half of the chapter leaders who filled out the survey also reported that teachers of noncore subjects had been asked by their principal or other administrator to develop their own curriculum.

“We have to make sure every teacher has proper curriculum in order for us as a school system to move to the next level,” said Mulgrew.