This Q&A answers many common questions regarding IEP planning and meetings, including updates from the 2023 DOE-UFT contract.

The UFT will continue to fight for additional time during the school day for special education teachers and related service providers to work on IEPs to ensure that students with disabilities receive the best possible educational experience.

This item about IEP recommendations appeared in the Principals' Weekly.

With careful planning and thoughtful collaboration, students with disabilities can thrive in accelerated education.

The United Federation of Teachers calls on all members to adhere to the principle that IEP writing should occur exclusively during contractual work hours.

New federal funds, now being held up in Washington, are the only possible way New York City will be able to invest in the protective measures and staff required for schools to safely re-open in September — even on a limited basis.

More than a hundred 3- and 4-year-olds with disabilities at the Mosaic Pre-K Centers in Queens will now receive the related services they need to thrive, the culmination of a two-year organizing effort by the union and the broader school community.


District 79 math teacher Samuel Berck instructs incarcerated students at the East River Academy at the Rikers Island jail complex.


UFT educators across the city took part in "Grade-Ins" to fight for more autonomy during the workday and to call out the amounts of irrelevant administrative tasks they are forced to do that don’t serve their students.

Leading with the positive, focusing on a student's specific goals and having parents be assured that an educator has a plan to further their child's needs are among the best ways to have more effective parent-teacher conferences.

Adrianna DeAngelis has taught a pre-K class at Birch Family Services for the past 14 years. She is one of 200 educators and support staff across Birch's four early childhood centers and schools represented by the UFT.

Teacher’s Choice, initiated by the UFT over 30 years ago, allows school staff members to exercise their professional judgment to purchase supplementary supplies and materials to improve the educational experience for their students. Here are answers...

The nation recently honored all of its teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week in May. Teachers are dedicated professionals who work tirelessly each day to motivate their students to work to their full potential in the classroom. They are also...

UFT-represented educators once again are eligible for reimbursement for some of their out-of-pocket classroom expenses through Teacher’s Choice.

About 1,700 UFT members and guests marked the union’s 65th anniversary at this year’s observance of Teacher Union Day on Nov. 2 by honoring union members past and present for their efforts to improve working conditions and strengthen members’ rights...

The UFT honored the organizing efforts and successes of members thoughout the city as some 1,500 members, friends and families gathered at the New York Hilton Midtown on Nov. 3 to commemorate Teacher Union Day.

Jouleni Cruz had parent-teacher conferences on her mind as she exited East-West School of International Studies in Flushing, Queens, and headed for her car on Sept. 28. Suddenly, she heard the sickening sound of a vehicle making an impact with...

Now that I have your undivided attention...

The number of new teachers who turned out on Aug. 26 for the kickoff of New Teacher Week was about twice as large as last year, thanks to the surge of hiring over the summer to reduce class sizes in some 750 schools. As the new hires lined up outside...

The following Q&A answers some of the most frequently asked questions about the teacher evaluation system for the 2024-25 school year.

Dial-A-Teacher, the UFT’s free homework helpline, is back with a new focus for its 43rd year: helping asylum-seeking students.
The helpline, which fields about 40,000 calls a year, offers K-12 students and their parents live homework support from...

Michael Mulgrew, President of the United Federation of Teachers, highlights the crucial role UFT Teacher Centers have played both historically and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and petitions Albany legislators to increase state funding for this...

Retired music teacher Emy Vanderpool wasn't ready to leave the world of education when health concerns forced her to step down. The UFT's Partners Through Experience program has offered a way for Vanderpool and other recnt retirees to stay connected...

Find out this year's Teacher's Choice allotment by title. The program reimburses eligible UFT members for supplemental instructional supplies that they purchase out of pocket.

Although public schools have resumed full in-person learning, parent-teacher conferences will be remote during the 2021–22 school year.

Brooklyn became the Borough of Teachers on Aug. 29 when newly hired educators went to the Kings Theatre for the opening day of the city Department of Education’s New Teacher Week. Schools Chancellor David C. Banks and UFT President Michael Mulgrew...

Find out more about the lead teacher assistant (lead educational associate) position for paraprofessionals.

The story about the teacher reunited with her former student is a truly beautiful story — a story of a woman who was a dedicated teacher.

UFT-represented educators will receive roughly the same Teacher's Choice alloment as last year to reimburse them for some of their out-of-pocket expenses for supplemental instructional supplies and materials of their choice.

UFT members celebrated past, present and future union leaders on Teacher Union Day by mourning founder George Altomare on the anniversary of the union’s first strike and honoring the new school-based Contract Action Teams and others who carry on his...

UFT members showed up in force for Teacher Union Day on Nov. 6 to recognize their colleagues' dedication to the union and to unite in solidarity to face the battles ahead.

The UFT calls for more flexibility in the nomination of substitute teachers and paraprofessionals, and for the DOE to consider a Hard-to-Staff differential for substitutes serving schools that have had difficulty filling positions.

Sixth-grade special education teacher Julianne Salinger performed the Heimlich maneuver for the first time, saving a choking 7th-grader at IS 61 on Staten Island during the student's lunch period on Oct. 21.

This year's Retired Teachers Chapter Luncheon celebrated the "visionaries" on whose shoulders stand retirees and in-service members alike as some 500 attendees were urged to continue advocating for political change and the rights of educators...

A Brooklyn teacher gives another her well-deserved flowers in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week.