Yes. This is a good thing. Physical and occupational therapists working for the DOE have always been provisional employees. As permanent employees, we will have job protections and other benefits not afforded to provisional employees, including greater rights to certain types of leave, such as extended sick leave.

Following the Dec. 31, 2013 deadline, the city Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) will score the exams and create a list of names of those eligible for consideration for permanent civil service appointment.

It is possible, but highly unlikely. Remember, you work in a shortage area. But you must complete the exam by Dec. 31, 2013 to get on the list.

Civil service appointments are made from the list. People whose names appear higher on the list are likely to be appointed sooner than those lower on the list. It is anticipated that DCAS will sort our exam results into scoring bands, for example, all applicants that scored 100 will be in one band, all applicants that scored 99 and so on. Within each scoring band, the ordering of names will be random based upon an algorithm that DCAS will apply to those people’s social security numbers. Because we are in a shortage area, it is likely that all DOE therapists will be reached for appointment.

No date has been set yet, but civil service lists are typically issued six to nine months after the closing date for the exam.

Part-time therapists and full-time therapists will both be on the same list and will be appointed in list order.

No. Your salary and work location will stay the same.

Under civil service rules, appointees serve a one-year probationary period before they become permanent. We anticipate that therapists now employed by DOE will not be required to serve a new probationary period but this is one of the issues that the DOE and UFT will discuss before the civil service list is established. 

The senior therapist title will be replaced by level 2 status under civil service. Therapists will move to level 2 status automatically after two years of employment. No processing fee will be required for the move to level 2. 

No, application fees already paid for becoming a senior therapist will not be refunded.

In all likelihood, yes. 

The DOE has sent an email to every therapist’s DOE email address. The DOE is also preparing to mail a letter to every therapist, including those who are on leave.  If you know a therapist who did not receive the email, please have the therapist email:AskAQuestionAboutCivilServiceExaminations@schools.nyc.gov.

The information on the DOE website has been updated and no longer reflects that the titles of occupational and physical therapists are non-competitive. The decision to place our titles in the competitive class was made by the State Civil Service Commission. These titles are already in the competitive class elsewhere in the state.