Editorials

New York State and New York City’s recommended school and child care vaccine schedule remains the same now as it was before President Donald Trump’s Aug. 10 executive order on vaccinations. That is as it should be, the UFT opines. Trump failed to provide any new scientific findings to justify the change. To protect everyone's safety and health, the UFT advocates sticking to the science.

Gov. Kathy Hochul must opt-out of President Donald Trump’s scheme for private school vouchers, the UFT opines. The Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Program would provide taxpayers in participating states with a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for donating up to $1,700 to a scholarship-granting organization. Teachers unions warn the program is a thinly disguised private school voucher program that will siphon needed federal funds from underfunded public schools.


Teachers and students should be able to focus on learning, rather than on whether ICE agents are stationed nearby looking for parents and caregivers. The UFT calls on the city and Department of Education to update its policies and protocols regarding interactions with non-local law enforcement and expand support and resources for English language learners and immigrant families.

Preserving opportunities for play and experiential learning in early childhood and elementary education is not a departure from academic excellence; it is an investment in the well-rounded development and long-term success of every child.

The national Educational Choice for Children Act, tucked into the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Congress passed last summer, is bad news for public education – and New York must not opt in.

The UFT welcomes New York mayoral and gubernatorial support for expanding 3-K and pre-K and launching a new 2Care program to care for the city's youngest children, but argues that the city's home-based, family child care providers must be fairly compensated for such goals to be achieved successfully.