The school-based special education committee — created as part of the 2023 DOE-UFT contract — gave Naing the tool she needed to fight to ensure special education students in her school receive the services they are entitled to.

Third-year special education teacher Britni Maddocks takes a strengths-based approach to assessing her students’ needs in her NEST classroom at PS 59 on Staten Island to help build students’ confidence and assure them that the classroom is a safe...

As the psychologist at Gotham Collaborative HS in the Bronx, Nadhilis Rojas assesses students’ needs, refers them for services and tracks their progress. As a fluent English and Spanish speaker, she can more effectively serve her diverse school...

Find resources to help ensure that children with disabilities receive the supports and services they need.

Teacher Files back to top Official teacher files in a school shall be maintained under the following circumstances: No material derogatory to a teacher's conduct, service, character or personality shall be placed in the files unless the teacher has...

Dayniah Manderson’s favorite genre to teach in her 8th-grade English classes at Mott Haven Community School is dystopian fiction because, as a wheelchair user with muscular dystrophy, she relates to the struggle to break free from oppressive systems.

It’s essential for parents of children with disabilities to understand the process of obtaining an Individualized Education Program that meets their child’s needs. That’s why Thomas Rosa, the chapter leader at PS 751, the Manhattan School for Career...

UFT President Michael Mulgrew is calling on the city to fill vacant school-related professional positions in order to fulfill the special education requirements of at least 9,000 students across the city.

Jenna Marrazzo, a second-year teacher at PS 42 on Staten Island, stepped up in her first year on the job to support and advise the school's newly invigorated student council, which had gone dormant during the pandemic.

See sample SBO ballots for early elementary and elementary schools, including pre-K centers, K-5 and K-8 schools.

The UFT shall educate its members about the significant implications of the Paraprofessionals and Education Support Staff Bill of Rights and the Preparing and Retaining All (PARA) Educators Act, emphasizing the potential benefits for...

Teacher Jacqueline Armento's development and coordination of the Law Institute at John Bowne HS in Queens earned her recognition at this year’s UFT Career and Technical Education Awards night, where she received a UFT CTE Educators Award.

Posts from the July and August 2025 editions of Principal's Digest pertaining to students with disabilities.

A. Regularized Licensure The Board of Education shall provide for the regular licensure of attendance teacher personnel consistent with the needs of the instructional program and subject to applicable law and the by-laws of the Board of Education...

When students ask John Isaza why he teaches — despite the higher salary he could earn as an electrician — his answer is simple. “I love my job,” he tells them. “When you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work.” Isaza, a UFT Career and Technical...

The DOE requires that students receiving related services must be re-evaluated every three years to assess whether they still need those services. Here are answers to common questions about preparing these "triennial examinations" for students in...

Stephen T. Mather Building Arts and Craftsmanship HS's commitment to student well-being is why Sylwia Nosowicz, a first-year teacher whose first career was as a clinical mental health counselor, feels comfortable calling the school “a perfect match”...

Special classes offer different levels of staffing intensity depending upon the intensity of a student's academic and/or management needs.

The UFT is pushing back against the DOE's use of part-time therapists from private agencies rather than operationalizing the ninth session negotiated in the 2023 DOE-UFT contract to enable full-time therapists to do this work.

On Monday, Oct. 4, 2021, all staff in school buildings will have received at least one dose of the vaccine, which marks a major step to keeping our school communities safe for the duration of this pandemic. We are proud that 97% of our membership has...

Yes. The New York State Board of Regents voted to eliminate the general core in liberal arts and sciences (LAS) requirement for certification, which included coursework in the following areas: artistic expression, communication, information retrieval...

SETSS special education, ICT special education and ICT general education positions are available as preferences for teachers to select and are not subject to posting. Learn more »

See sample SBO ballots for single and multi-session high schools, including 6-12 and 9-12 schools.

Among the many meaningful contractual rights UFT members have is time carved out for teachers to do unassigned professional work. Whether they teach elementary, middle or high school, teachers are generally entitled to five preparation periods per...

Lillian Roberts Executive Director District Council 37, AFSCME 125 Barclay Street New York, NY 10007 Randi Weingarten President United Federation of Teachers 52 Broadway New York, NY 10004 Re: Termination of School Health PERB Stipulation Dear Ms...

Member organizing paid off at the Brooklyn campus of Boerum Hill School for International Studies and two other public schools. The city Department of Education moved to alleviate overcrowding by transferring unused Success Academy Charter School...

As much as you might want to toss all your materials in a box and sprint out the door on the last day of school, consider doing your future self a favor by strategically preparing for September in June, thoughtfully packing up your classroom and...

See New York State laws and regulations related to special education and students with disabilities.