WHEREAS, the United Federation of Teachers is the sole bargaining representative for UFT members and works to support them and the schools and sites they work in; and

WHEREAS, since the Mayoral Administration of Michael Bloomberg until today, Corporate Charter School Networks such as Success Academy have taken over a disproportionate amount of space in public school buildings; and

WHEREAS, Building Utilization Plans (BUPS) delineate the space allocation in school buildings; and

WHEREAS, public school students are routinely denied access to public school space as a result of the occupancy of corporate charters in their buildings; and

WHEREAS, public school students routinely face obstacles in getting mandated services, access to clubs and extracurricular activities as a result of the occupancy of corporate charters in NYC public school buildings; and

WHEREAS, as an example, in 2019, Success Academy of Cobble Hill had an enrollment of 421 students and today has 273 students enrolled — a 35% decrease — while the co-located public schools have growing enrollments and greater need for space to serve their students and there are at least 5 empty classrooms in the building that are assigned to Success Academy; and

WHEREAS, corporate charter schools face a declining enrollment citywide and refuse to return space back to the public school they share buildings with; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, the United Federation of Teachers will use its resources, advocacy, and voice to support the return of public school space to public schools; and, be it further

RESOLVED, the United Federation of Teachers will call for an amending of Building Utilization plans to reflect the declining enrollment of Corporate Charters where relevant; and, be it further

RESOLVED, the United Federation of Teachers will support its members and chapters in fighting for the return of space from Corporate Charters; and, be it finally

RESOLVED, the United Federation of Teachers will call on the NYC Department of Education to fulfill its obligation to public school students by creating a policy for corporate charters to relinquish unused space.