Under the negotiated contract language which applies to all UFT-represented employees, the Department of Education is required to maintain an environment that is “free of harassment, intimidation, retaliation and discrimination.” If you are...

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the New York State & New York City Human Rights Laws entitle people with disabilities to reasonable accommodations in order to help them perform the essential functions of their job. The United Federation...

In single session schools, parent engagement time was established with the 2014 contract which created a 40-minute block of time after school on Tuesdays for teachers and paraprofessionals. The 2023 contract increased parent engagement time to 55...

In single session schools, in accordance with the 2023 contract, Other Professional Work (OPW) is now a 40-minute weekly block of time for teachers and a 35-minute block for paraprofessionals scheduled after school on Tuesday, unless modified through...

The 2023 DOE-UFT contract provides opportunities for remote work under certain circumstances. Also see the DOE Labor Policy guidance regarding remote work hours for school-based titles. Parent engagement time for teachers and paraprofessionals The...

Failure to follow an administrator’s directive could be considered an act of insubordination and could lead to disciplinary action against you. If an administrator gives you a directive that you know violates the contract, you must obey it and then...

If you are the subject of an investigation dealing with potential misconduct, the DOE may assign you to either an administrative office or to an administrative assignment within your school with a professional activity described in the contract other...

The DOE is required, under our contract and federal and state regulations, to provide a workplace free of recognized hazards, one that is safe, secure and well maintained. It is required to provide training to protect members against hazards that...

Unfortunately, UFT members sometimes report that their supervisors have harassed them. Harassment can take many forms — sexual harassment, biased acts or remarks, public ridicule and acts of intimidation are some examples. You do not have to — nor...

Occasionally a Department of Education employee is sued (for example, by a parent) because of something he or she allegedly did at work. When the New York City Corporation Counsel finds that the employee broke no rules or laws in carrying out their...

Throughout the school year, teachers apply for “per-session” activities that are done either before or after school, on the weekend or holidays, or during the summer. If you apply for and are accepted for such an activity, you are paid at the per...

Elementary Schools Teachers are programmed for a school day that has either seven or eight periods per day. In seven-period schools, teachers are programmed for 25 teaching periods, a daily 50-minute duty-free lunch period and five 45-minute...

In order to assure fairness, our contract requires that classes, sessions and annex assignments be rotated among those who are qualified. This assures that if you are qualified, you will have an opportunity to get an assignment you want within a...

Middle school teachers, high school teachers and elementary teachers in eight-period schools are programmed for professional activity period(s). During the program preference process, teachers select three activities from the professional activity...

If you are assaulted, threatened, cursed at or verbally harassed on school grounds by anyone — a student, a parent, an intruder or anyone else — you should immediately notify your principal and UFT chapter leader. This applies whether or not you...

Safety is a basic prerequisite of quality education. To ensure a safe environment, your principal — in consultation with the UFT chapter — is required to develop and annually update two documents: a safety plan (routine procedures for ensuring school...

If you are the victim of a crime or are injured by a student or intruder, the UFT‘s Victim Support Program (212-598-6853) will help you on a confidential, one-to-one basis. The program offers advice, counseling and assistance with the police, the...

If a student in your class is very disruptive, you have the right to have that child removed for a single period, a single day or up to four days. The removal process is spelled out in Chancellor’s Regulation A-443 (Student Disciplinary Procedures)...

Although you are responsible for school and student property under your supervision, you are not responsible for the loss of such property if the loss is not your fault. However, if your personal property (including your car, but excluding cash) is...

All teacher salary schedules can be found in the contract or on the UFT website. Check that you have been given credit for all the educational credits you’ve earned and all the experience you have. Note that you may be able to get salary credit for...

Schools should have a professional development team that at a minimum includes a literacy coach and a math coach. These coaches are colleagues, deemed to have classroom expertise, who are eager to share their knowledge. They show teachers how to...

Each school year, the DOE determines the license areas where there is a citywide shortage of teachers. If your school has a vacancy in one of those license areas, and you possess that particular license and have at least three years of experience...

With the 2023 contract in place, the DOE will issue an annual reminder that schools should identify space for all staff, including paraprofessionals, for lunch in buildings where there is no dedicated staff room or lounge. And, at the beginning of...

As per the 2023 DOE-UFT contract, a new three-year pilot workday for teachers and paraprofessionals has been implemented for the 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years. Both the DOE and the UFT must agree to extend it each year after that or the...

Unless modified through a School Based Option (SBO) pursuant to Article 8B, teachers and paraprofessionals in single session schools have a 6 hour, 20 minute workday, Monday-Friday with a 60-minute professional development block on Mondays...

You are entitled to a duty-free lunch period. This was a strike issue in the 1960s. Duty-free means just that. It’s free of any and all duty assignments. If you teach in an elementary school, you must have a daily 50-minute duty-free lunch period. In...

If you are required to maintain classroom or hall bulletin boards, their format is up to you. Per Article 21A of the contract, your principal cannot dictate how they look or discipline you for their format. Hallway bulletin boards are not part of a...

The UFT believes that you are the best judge of a student’s achievement. Some supervisors have pressured teachers to pass undeserving students or, without the teacher’s consent, have unilaterally changed student grades. If this happens to you...

Partners in Progress: Peer Intervention Program (PIP) is a collaboration between the UFT and the DOE to provide pedagogical and professional support to tenured teachers delivered by fellow expert educators, founded in 1988. PIP provides confidential...

If you have a difference of professional judgment with your supervisor, Article 24 in the contract provides you with a mechanism for resolving it that is similar to nonbinding mediation. Often an entire staff or department uses this procedure to...

If you have a reasonable suspicion that a student has been abused, maltreated or neglected, you are required by law to file a report with the State Central Register personally by calling 800-635-1522. Your job is to report the suspicion, not to...

The school consultation committee is a contractual right that gives school chapters voice and empowers them to address and resolve school issues. The principal is required to meet with your UFT chapter committee once a month at a mutually agreeable...

The Department of Education and its employees are prohibited from discriminating against you on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, age handicapping condition or membership in, participation...

Before the end of June and by the opening of school in September, your chapter committee should meet with your principal to discuss and have input into the school’s budget. This contractual provision also requires the principal to share school...

School Leadership Teams must be established in each school. There are three mandatory members: the principal, the Parents Association president and the UFT chapter leader or their designee. The committee should have at least 10 members but no more...

The city whistleblower law prohibits any “adverse personnel action” (dismissal, suspension, discipline, “U” rating, denial of assignment without justification) against you in retaliation for you making a report about the conduct of a DOE officer or...