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PIP - Strategies used by the PT
Agreement on restart and transformation schools
This is the memorandum of agreement reached in July 2011 between the UFT and the DOE concerning "persistently lowest achieving" schools that have been assigned to the restart and transformation models established by the federal goverment.
Required DOE forms to file for Workers' Compensation
If you are filing for workers’ compensation, you must file these forms:
Educational Paraprofessional Leave Application
Educational paraprofessionals should use this form for initial requests for leaves of absence as well as requests for extensions. Requests for extensions must be submitted prior to the date of expiration of the current leave.
EB1054 Health Benefits Report/Inquiry
You should submit this report with your Educational Paraprofessional Leave Application to prevent the disruption of your major medical insurance.
Extended Time
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...
Length of School Day
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...
Lunch Periods
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...
Academic Freedom
As someone who is committed to public education and who sees up close the condition in which our students learn and live, you are in a unique position to help influence public policy. Over the years, the UFT has often called upon its members to speak...
Bulletin Boards
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...
Lesson Plans
Since 1990, Article 8 of the DOE-UFT contract has affirmed that the organization, format, notation and other physical aspects of the lesson plans are within a teacher’s discretion. Nevertheless, many supervisors continued to require that specific...
Grades
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...
Class Coverage
When a teacher is absent, the principal should always attempt to cover that class, preferably with a substitute teacher. When a substitute is not available, the principal should first ask for volunteers to cover the class and, if that doesn’t work...
Partners in Progress (PIP)
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...
Professional Conciliation
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...
Child Abuse
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...
School consultation
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...
Discrimination
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...
School Budget
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
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...
Social media guidelines
The widespread popularity of social media have created a new generation of problems and potential liabilities for educators. Teachers may be held responsible for content posted about them and by them on social networking sites. For those who have a...
Transit Program
If you travel to work by public transportation, you can save money by taking part in the City of New York Commuter Benefits Program, which covers New York City and the tri-state area. This city benefit enables UFT members to pay for allowable...
Whistleblower Protection
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...