All students suspected of having a disability should be identified, located and evaluated. Referral for special education evaluation should not, however, be the first response to pandemic-related learning loss or readjustment issues.

The theory behind integrated co-teaching classrooms, in which one special education teacher and one general education teacher work as partners, is simple: Children with disabilities are supported with specially designed instruction and services that meet their needs in a classroom alongside their typically developing peers. 

All UFT pedagogues and paraprofessionals, not just teachers, have the opportunity to transfer to a different school under the Open Market Transfer Plan each year from April 15 to Aug. 7.

The stringent safety policies in areas such as testing, ventilation and social distancing that the union ensured were in place in September have kept the percentage of staff and students who test positive for COVID-19 within New York City public schools low all year.

Having paid leave to rest and recuperate when you are sick is one of the many benefits of union membership and Cumulative Absence Reserve is the formal name for the bank of sick days earned by UFT-represented employees who work for the city Department of Education.

The UFT has negotiated two hours of paid release time per vaccine dose for members who are unable to schedule their appointment outside the workday. UFT members who have side effects after taking the COVID-19 vaccine and feel sick may also be entitled to paid time off depending on their symptoms and the severity of the side effects.

Here's what the school day looks like for paraprofessionals and how their responsibilities have changed during blended learning. The new position of para classroom manager will also help meet the demands of teaching during COVID-19

The coronavirus has necessitated many changes in our work world. To ensure the safety of school communities, staff and students are now being tested regularly, and recently negotiated leaves and absences related to COVID-19 are one accommodation to our new reality. 

The pandemic has changed our work world, but the role of the union remains the same, even as the stakes are higher than ever.

In addition to the regular pay increases negotiated in each city Department of Education-UFT contract, UFT-represented teachers and other pedagogues receive differentials, step payments and longevity increases based on their level of education and years of service.