All recommendations on an IEP, including the subjects and number of periods for ICT, must be determined by, and designed to address, the student’s needs, NOT the school’s needs. IEP recommendations must not be based on the services currently offered...

All eligible in-service UFT members and their dependents have prescription drug coverage through the UFT Welfare Fund. There are no waiting periods for this coverage. In fact, after enrolling in the Welfare Fund, newly enrolled members who are...

The open enrollment period to change plans is Sept.1 - Oct. 15; changes take effect on Nov. 1. The UFT Welfare Fund provides dental benefits through two programs: the Scheduled Benefit Plan, which provides services through the Welfare Fund panel of...

The Welfare Fund has a three-tier copay structure for generic, preferred-brand and nonpreferred-brand medications. You can save money by using generics (Tier 1) or preferred-brand medications (Tier 2) whenever possible, but this is a decision between...

There are two components to the Welfare Fund's plan that affect families with high drug expenses. These are the $1,000 copay cap and the Cost Care Program. The trustees of the UFT Welfare Fund have instituted a copay cap for all eligible members and...

Due to a negotiated citywide health benefit agreement, the PICA Drug Program, rather than the UFT Welfare Fund, covers two categories of drugs, Self-Injectable Medications and Oral Chemotherapy. For more information regarding this program call...

DeCAP is a tax savings, payroll deduction program through which you may submit claims for reimbursement for child care services such as babysitting and summer day camp, or for the cost of caring for an elderly parent who spends at least half of the...

The HCFSA is a flexible spending account for health care expenses. Here is how the HCFSA Program works: First, you contribute before-tax dollars into your HCFSA account via automatic payroll deductions. Next, in order to receive reimbursement, you...

To take advantage of this benefit, the first thing you should do is request a Hearing Aid Certificate. The fastest way to get a certificate is to go to the Welfare Fund website and request a certificate online for each family member in need of the...

You cannot split the certificate by using it first for a checkup and then at a later date to purchase a hearing aid. The Welfare Fund recommends you use your medical benefits for a checkup or evaluation and use the certificate only when you are ready...

As a service to retired UFT members, the UFT Welfare Fund will process the hearing-aid reimbursement for retirees who are enrolled in the Supplemental Health Insurance Program (SHIP). For more information about SHIP, visit our main SHIP information...

Yes, but there are benefits to using a panel provider. Besides the discounts offered, the Welfare Fund requires our panelists to have a licensed audiologist at their facility to ensure quality service. The best way to save money is to use one of the...

If members are interested in more information about UFT courses, they can access the current course catalog and register on the UFT website. For more information about LearnUFT and courses offered to fulfill your CTLE requirements, visit: https://www...

The Department of Education recently informed the UFT that it discovered potential lead exposure from peeling paint in early child education classrooms in roughly 300 schools. The UFT will be closely following the DOE’s efforts to ensure that all the...

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...

Members can apply for a UFT parental leave 15 days before giving birth but no later than 10 days after delivery. If the birth date is significantly different from the due date, you can revise your information in SOLAS as long as you log back in...

There are no regulatory requirements that specify how general education students should be selected for ICT classes and there is no published DOE policy or guidance on the issue. However, as a matter of good practice, the general education “side” of...

Co-teachers must collaboratively plan, prepare and facilitate lessons, activities and projects, so they must be given regular common-planning time during the workday. According to the 2023 contract, ​​schools with professional activity periods will...

Each ICT class must, at a minimum, have a special education teacher and a general education teacher. In New York City, the special education teacher must be certified and appointed in special education and the general education teacher must be...

The general education or content area teacher has primary responsibility for delivery of content area instruction in an ICT class.

The special education teacher is primarily responsible for delivering specially designed instruction to the group of students with disabilities to address their needs as identified in their IEPs so they can access the grade-level curriculum.

Yes. These are some examples provided by the State Education Department.

Co-teachers may not be assigned to other duties (such as exam scoring or coverage or test proctoring for other classes) that would prevent them from providing IEP-mandated services to their ICT class. If a co-teacher is routinely assigned to other...

Integrated Co-Teaching may be provided for all subjects or on an individual subject basis. When Integrated Co-Teaching is recommended for less than the full school day, the student’s IEP must indicate the specific subjects or instructional areas in...

A+ courses are professional learning courses that NYC DOE teachers may take for credit towards their salary differential.

If you are a teacher hired or rehired on or after Sept.1, 2019, then you must obtain a minimum of 18 A+ credits in order to earn your salary differential, unless you have already attained an additional doctorate or an additional master’s in an...

All teachers are eligible to take A+ courses for their own knowledge, development and to earn credit toward a salary differential. A+ courses may only be taken for credit by teachers. If you are a guidance counselor, paraprofessional, school...

Courses taken during the year through the After School Professional Development Program (ASPDP) may be counted for A+ credit or P credit. You can find directions for completing course registrations on the ASPDP website. To register for courses, you...

Courses taken through ASPDP may be used towards the A+ requirement and currently, all ASPDP courses can be used for CTLE credit. You can check whether the course provider is independently approved on the NYSED website. The number of CTLE hours you...

If taken through ASPDP, you can access your transcripts and course certificates directly from your participant account on the ASPDP website; this will serve as your record of CTLE hours and earned A+ and P credit. The UFT’s LearnUFT program has...

A+ credits and P credits are both types of professional development credits that may be used towards teachers’ salary differentials. A+ credits are approved by a committee of UFT and DOE representatives, and are aligned with DOE educational...

You may continue to use university courses, CLEP tests, and ASPDP P-credit courses towards the salary differential, in addition to a minimum of required A+ courses. In other words, other than the minimum number of A+ credits needed for your salary...

You must file your salary differential via the salary application portal. Please consult the DOE guide below for deadlines for filing the salary differential application: When using ASPDP courses to apply for a differential, you will be asked for a...

For salary differential application questions, contact the Office of Salary Services through HR Connect at 718-935-4000.

ASPDP offers courses over three semesters: Fall, Spring, and Summer. The course catalog for each semester is published shortly before the semester begins. Sign up to receive the ASPDP newsletter for updates on when the catalog is published. Courses...

All A+ courses are aligned with the Chancellor's priorities and meet high-quality standards. Teachers may take any A+ class they wish.