If they are the retiree's pension beneficiary, they can contact the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) and the UFT Pension Department. A member's beneficiary (or representative) must first submit a certified or original death certificate to TRS for...

On your QPP retirement application, you must decide how your TDA funds will be distributed. You may receive your TDA funds as an annuity separate from your QPP retirement allowance. You may instead elect TDA Deferral status, and thereby defer...

Checks for appointed pedagogues and annualized paraprofessionals are issued on a semi-monthly basis, on the 15th and 30th of each month. You can verify your current pay by logging in to the DOE Payroll Portal: https://payrollportal.nycboe.net. For...

DOE employees must immediately report all arrest to the Office of Personnel Administration and to their supervisor (Principal) in writing. DOE employees should email: OPIArrestNotification [at] schools [dot] nyc [dot] gov (OPIArrestNotification[at]schools[dot]nyc[dot]gov).

Immediately. All arrests, regardless of the issue involved, the location of the arrest, or when it took place MUST be immediately reported in writing to the Office of Personnel Investigations and your Principal. The best way is by e-mail to...

Yes. The principal must be informed immediately in writing about all arrests.

Every case is different. Arrests can have serious consequences. Members should speak to their private attorney and then to a UFT Representative in the Investigations Department.

If your certification is expiring you need to do the following to apply for your professional certificate: You will need to apply for the appropriate certificate through your Teach account. You will need to email your Human Resource Director to...

Apply through NYSED at: www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/ta.html. If you have problems logging in, email teachhelp [at] nysed [dot] gov (teachhelp[at]nysed[dot]gov). Include your name, date of birth and the last four digits of your Social Security number along with a brief...

The main exams required for state certification are the EAS (Educating All Students) and the CST (Content Specialty Test). If the person is applying for a bilingual or special education certificate, additional exams are also required. As of April 27...

It is so important that someone in your school steps up and takes this important role. If your chapter is not organized, there won't be the necessary checks and balances on administration and UFT members will not have the same voice at the school...

Elections for UFT chapter leaders happen every 3 years. The last election period was in 2021. Prior to the next election, your chapter leader will inform you about important deadlines and new information will be posted on the UFT website.

Please send your information about the event to New_York_Teacher [at] uft [dot] org (New_York_Teacher[at]uft[dot]org) as early in advance of the event as possible. Please be sure to include the contact information where you can be reached.

For all subjects for which the student's IEP does not recommend special education services, the student must receive instruction in a general education class with their peers who do not have disabilities. The number of nondisabled students should be...

Your prep period can only be taken away in an emergency, such as a coverage for a teacher absence. You can lose multiple preps over the course of a semester due to an emergency need, but you will be paid for all lost preps at the current contractual...

You should file reports both at school and with the union. It is important to file safety/incident reports with the union because it lets us know what is taking place inside of your building. If you do not report incidents to the union, most likely...

You should report any online bullying to both your administrator and the UFT via a Safety report. You can file a UFT incident report online at: https://www.uft.org/your-rights/safety-health/incident-reporting/uft-in….

The DOE-UFT contract offers you protection and strong support if you have been assaulted while on duty. As well as notifying your principal within 24 hours, you should notify the UFT Health and Safety Department by filing an online safety/discipline...

The following information concerns the UFT lawsuit against the DOE over the 2 percent increase the DOE gave employees enrolled in the Management Pay Plan but not to members of the Administrative Education Officers and Analysts Chapter. On Aug. 29, a...

The UFT Brooklyn borough office put together a festive evening of student performances and award presentations to thank schools that raised more than $1,000 apiece for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in 2018.

All schools are trained every September on General Response Protocols (GRP). In addition, consult with your chapter leader about the school's safety plan. You can find more information about those protocols and school safety plans in the UFT's School...

Yes, the union's Member Assistance Program (MAP) has trained professional counselors who can guide you through the problems that can put your health and job in jeopardy. Our services are free, confidential, professional and supportive. As a UFT...

Per Chancellor’s Regulation A-414, every school/campus must establish a School Safety Committee. The committee shall be comprised of the following individuals: the Principal, UFT Chapter Leader, the Custodial Engineer, In-house School Safety Agent...

Alert your schools Administrator and School Safety Agent right away and also contact your UFT borough office: Bronx: 718-379-6200 Brooklyn: 718-852-4900 Manhattan: 212-598-6800 Queens: 718-275-4400 Staten Is: 718-605-1400

Instructions to "shelter-in" for a drill or actual emergency means to seek safety within the building one already occupies, rather than to evacuate. Students are trained to: Remain inside of the building Conduct business as usual Respond to specific...

It is a part of your school safety plan, which you are allowed to read. Ask your Chapter Leader to access your School Safety Plan.

In general, when students appear intoxicated or under the influence and are present in school, it's the school's responsibility to keep them there until dismissal or a parent/guardian can pick them up. If you become aware of a student under the...

Under Chancellor's Regulations, the DOE has a right to re-assign or suspend staff during an investigation. Normally you can not be forced to an out of Borough Reassignment location. Contact your Borough Office immediately if this has happened.

Our state affiliate NYSUT has a legal plan service that UFT members are entitled to join. You can find out more about it and enroll online here: http://memberbenefits.nysut.org/program-service/legal-and-financial/leg….

UFT parental leave provides for six weeks of paid leave. Birth parents can supplement these weeks by using CAR days in their bank from the day of birth until either their available days run out, or six weeks’ worth (eight weeks for a C-section) have...

People can borrow days before the birth in what is known as maternity disability. Once the baby is born, birth mothers can only borrow days if they take maternity leave. There is no right to borrow days if you take a UFT parental leave.

Yes. People who do not return from a UFT parental leave are responsible to repay the money they received while on this leave. If you do not return to active service for 12 calendar months, you will be required to pay back the UFT parental leave...

When you return from a leave of absence, in most cases you return to your school or worksite. In some cases, you may be excessed while on a leave, if you were the least senior person in your license area and your school experienced a drop in...

You can stop working a week before your due date without any additional medical documentation. If you want to go on leave before that, you would need a note from your doctor that includes a diagnosis and prognosis.

You can apply for a sabbatical by logging onto the DOE's Self Online Leave Application System (SOLAS). SOLAS is available at https://apps.schools.nyc/solas. If you are a teacher with 7 years of service, you could be eligible for a six-month...

Any time a person is off payroll, their summer pay is reduced accordingly. In other words, if you are off payroll for 10% of the school year, your summer pay would be reduced roughly 10%. If you are on a UFT parental leave, this loss is compensated...