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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 immediately following dismissal, an Other Professional Work block on Tuesdays (40 minutes for teachers and 35 minutes for paraprofessionals) immediately following dismissal, and 55 minutes of self-directed parent engagement time which may be completed remotely outside of the school day.

Work day start/end time

Elementary and Middle Schools: in single session schools, the school day for teachers and paraprofessionals will start no earlier than 8 a.m. and may end no later than 3:45 p.m., Monday to Friday, unless modified thru the SBO process.

High schools: In single-session K-12, 6-12 and high schools, the day will start no earlier than 8 a.m. and end no later than 4:20 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, and 3:45 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

School-based options (SBOs) process

Each spring, school staff have the ability to modify parts of the contract including the workday, programs/schedules, professional activity periods and the ability to create compensatory time positions using the SBO process. The UFT and DOE have agreed to 14 pre-approved SBOs. Learn more about pre-approved SBO options in the 2023 contract »

Read what the 2023 contract says about time and the workday »