Pay for substitute paraprofessionals will increase annually under our 2023 contract. See the current pay rates » See more information about per diem roles and salary »

To become a full-time paraprofessional for the New York City Department of Education (DOE), you must first become a substitute paraprofessional, and serve at least 25 days in that role. You must also have the New York State Teaching Assistant...

Yes. The Paraprofessional Bill was signed by the Governor on Oct. 29, 2021, and paraprofessionals in the following titles are now automatically members of TRS: Auxiliary Trainer; Bilingual Professional Assistant; Educational Assistant; Educational...

In accordance with recent amendments to NYSED regulations, IEP teams must make certain considerations before determining that a student requires an IEP-assigned paraprofessional, and the student’s IEP must reflect those considerations in the relevant...

The LEAP to Teacher Program is offered by the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies in collaboration with the UFT and participating colleges in all five boroughs. The LEAP to Teacher program helps place UFT paraprofessionals at participating...

The Lead Teacher Assistant is an annual position for in-service, full-time paraprofessionals that enables them to play a more diverse role supporting student needs in the classroom and school. Lead Teacher Assistants support instruction in the...

Paraprofessionals who have been arrested will no longer be automatically suspended without pay, under the DOE’s updated policy, to resolve the UFT’s union-initiated grievance that challenged the unfairness of automatic suspensions. Paraprofessionals...

The workday of a substitute para is based on a workday of 6 hours and 50 minutes, inclusive of lunch. The student day ends after 6 hours and 20 minutes. The school to which the para is assigned has the discretion to decide whether the substitute must...

The workday of a substitute para is based on a workday of 6 hours and 50 minutes, inclusive of lunch. The student day ends after 6 hours and 20 minutes. The school to which the para is assigned has the discretion to decide whether the substitute must...

Educational paraprofessionals who work in activities other than their regular assignments are paid a per session rate for the hours worked. Per session is a positive payment that is issued along with regular payments. Because per session is a...

The DOE will reimburse eligible full-time paraprofessionals for the cost of up to 12 credits towards a master’s degree in education. Paras must be in an accredited graduate education program as a fully matriculated student leading to New York State...

Paraprofessionals shall be retained in their school or work site in accordance with their seniority. If excessing occurs because of lack of work, the least senior employee will be excessed from the school or site. Unless a principal denies the...

Paraprofessionals can apply for a leave of absence using SOLAS (Self-Service Online Leave Application System). It is an online system where employees may easily apply for a leave of absence from their computers or smartphones. Eligible leaves include...

The answer is NO! If the school wants you to accompany a teacher and a class on a school trip, then the school is responsible for your transportation, admission fees and expenses to be incurred as a result of the excursion.

Teachers who hold professional teaching certificates and paraprofessionals who hold Level III teaching assistant certificates need to earn CTLE hours. Teachers who hold entry-level certificates (initial, conditional initial, Transitional A...

The management needs section of the student’s IEP must make clear the circumstances during the school day, including related services and nonacademic settings such as lunch and transitions, for which the student requires the support of a...

Before you retire you have: The right to borrow from your TRS account. The right to participate in the TRS tax-deferred annuity program. Benefits for your family if you die after one year of service. After you retire you receive: A guaranteed pension...

The DOE provides eligible paraprofessionals with a 40-day paid leave of absence to complete student teaching requirements if paraprofessionals are enrolled in a program to earn credentials to become full-time teachers as there are instances when...

UFT Educational Paraprofessionals and DC37 Family Paraprofessionals cannot rescind their resignations and must reapply for a new position as a paraprofessional. See more information at Application Process- Full Time UFT Educational Paraprofessional...

Paraprofessionals are responsible for providing hands-on assistance to remove student clothing, change soiled diapers, clean students' bodies after toileting, and assisting students with getting dressed and putting on a clean set of clothes/underwear...

Yes, as long as you are a UFT member. The discount vendors on the UFT app/website provide their discounts to ALL of the UFT’s members.

Following a title change (e.g., from paraprofessional to teacher or another role), employees may transfer days from their old bank to their new bank by filling out a CAR Transfer Request form . The school payroll secretary processes the form to...

Yes. If after an investigation, the allegations against the paraprofessional are found to be unsubstantiated, within 30 days the paraprofessional will receive back pay for the amount of time of the suspension without pay.

Yes. Under state law governing public employees, the terms of an expired contract stay in effect until a new agreement is reached.

First, log on to your New York State Education Department TEACH account to find out what requirements you are missing. If you received a notice of termination for lack of college credits, you can apply annually between Feb. 1 and March 31 to the DOE...

Yes, you can. You can join the union by filling out our online enrollment form. If you have any questions or run into difficulty with the online union enrollment process, please call the UFT at 212-331-6311.

Speak with your chapter leader or district representative. While a handbook may reiterate an existing provision of a collective bargaining agreement or Chancellor’s Regulation, a handbook cannot be contrary to or modify a provision of a collective...

Pre-Kindergarten: 18 students with a teacher and a paraprofessional Kindergarten: 25 students Grades 1-6 in elementary schools: 32 students by contract JHS/MS (all grades 4 – 8 or 5 – 9, if are located in a middle school, then middle school class...

Pedagogues — teachers, school counselors, school secretaries, school psychologists and social workers, and lab specialists — who are injured or made sick on the job are covered by the Line of Duty Injury provision of the DOE-UFT contract. Other UFT...

Workers’ Compensation is a form of insurance, paid for in advance by your employer, which entitles you to full medical coverage and part of your salary for job-related injuries and illnesses. You are entitled to Workers’ Compensation no matter whose...

The number of students with disabilities in an ICT class may not exceed 40 percent of the total class register with a maximum of 12 students with disabilities. All students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) count when determining the...

The requirements for New York State certificates can be found at www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert. There are no separate requirements for a New York City license other than the availability of a vacancy in the certificate area and the recommendation of a...

You may take off up to four days for the purposes of bereavement, at any point in the three months after the date of death of a covered family member. Form OP 201 is required.

You must have New York State certification to be hired for a full-time teaching position in New York City. The position must match the state certificate. New York City no longer issues a separate paper license, but there is still a license...

If you started working on the first day of school (for example, on 9/4), your first check (for example, distributed on 9/14), will be less than the regular, full amount. This is because there are days in the pay cycle (in this example, 9/1 through 9...

Class sizes and staffing ratios (including teachers and paraprofessionals) in self-contained special education classes are determined by the needs of the students as reflected in their IEPs. The ratios are based on state regulations and NYC...