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, local law enforcement officials, Parent Association President,  Dietician/designee of food services for the site, community members, local ambulance or other emergency response agencies, representative of the student body (when appropriate), and any other persons deemed appropriate by the Principal.

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 staff instructions

Teachers are trained to: 

• Increase situational awareness
• Conduct business as usual

The shelter-in directive will remain in effect until hearing an "all clear" message followed by specific instructions. 

All schools are trained every September on these General Response Protocols (GRP). You can review the protocols in the UFT's School Safety Manual: https://www.uft.org/sites/default/files/attachments/school-safety-info-manual.pdf.

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 influence, contact both your school administrator and school safety agent.

These are steps to be taken at the school level:

• Parent notification 
• EMS, depending on the severity of the situation
• Student cannot be allowed to leave the building
• Student must be seen by the school nurse

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/legal-service-plan.

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 been used. If a birth parent has the days in their bank, they could receive a total of 12 weeks of paid leave (14 weeks for a C-section). Members cannot borrow days or use a grace period. Members must commit to returning to the DOE for a minimum of one year following the leave.

Maternity leave is a birth parent’s right to use CAR days following a birth for six weeks (eight weeks for a C-section). Birth parents are allowed to borrow CAR days and use a grace period within the six-week (or eight-week) window. There is no return-to-service requirement, though if a birth parent borrows days, they must either return to service or repay those days to avoid being billed for them. There is no additional right to take a UFT parental leave in this case.

Once you have determined which leave best fits your personal circumstances, be sure to choose the correct term when applying through SOLAS. The city continues to provide health insurance in either case.

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 benefit.