Chapter Leader UpdateNov. 21, 2024

Chapter leader stipend checks will be mailed in December

Chapter leaders are the face of the union for most members and we rely on your leadership. As a small acknowledgment of the work you've done and the work you will do this school year, we are mailing you your base stipend check in December as compensation for out-of-pocket expenses you incur while performing your duties as chapter leader. The base stipend is calculated at a rate of $6 per member. Each chapter leader receives a minimum of $300 and a maximum of $1,350. The chapter leader stipend is based on your estimated expenses as chapter leader during the school year. The IRS is very clear that for tax purposes any excess you receive must be included in your gross income. Therefore, we strongly suggest that you keep all receipts. Chapter leaders who qualify will receive a second stipend check at the end of June in recognition of the extra time and effort they have dedicated to empower, organize and engage their members during the 2024–25 school year.

UFT sounds alarm on special education staffing shortage

The UFT held a press conference on Wednesday to sound the alarm about a severe shortage of paraprofessionals and related service providers in city public schools, particularly in District 75, that has resulted in thousands of students not receiving the special education services mandated in their individualized education programs. We shared the data provided by chapter leaders in our special education survey this fall. That survey, filled out by 81% of our chapter leaders, found more than 2,200 special education vacancies across 474 schools, including 1,558 paraprofessionals, 445 special education teachers and 139 occupational and physical therapists. Nearly 9,000 special education students, according to the survey, are not receiving one or more mandated service on their individualized education program as a result.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew said the DOE should:

• pay paraprofessionals more
• overhaul its hiring system for paraprofessionals
• change the funding system to ensure that schools have the money to hire the necessary staff
• use the negotiated ninth period to provide occupational and physical therapy services to more students

Read the Chalkbeat news article.

Determine if PROSE is right for your school

If you work in a school that is highly collaborative and has innovative practices, you may be interested in becoming a Progressive Redesign Opportunity Schools for Excellence (PROSE) school. PROSE schools may change the UFT contract and DOE regulations to create educator-led, community-driven innovations. More than 250 schools are currently participating in the PROSE program. The UFT is now accepting applications from schools interested in joining the PROSE program in the fall of 2025. If your school is interested in applying, please register for a virtual information session on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 4:15 p.m. In the interim, check out the PROSE section of the UFT website. A PROSE school liaison would be happy to set up a meeting with your school. Contact PROSE [at] uft [dot] org (PROSE[at]uft[dot]org) to request a visit or ask questions. The earlier your application is received, the sooner it will be reviewed by the panel. The deadline to submit an application is March 28, 2025. Applications are reviewed and approved on a rolling basis by the PROSE panel. Here are links to the application template, rubric and program brochure.

All class size grievances have been resolved

Even as we implement the new lower class size limits in the state law, we continue to enforce the existing class size limits in the DOE-UFT contract. With the hard work and diligent reporting of chapter leaders, every union grievance over excessive class sizes citywide has been resolved thanks to a powerful provision in the 2018 contract designed to give teachers quicker relief. The new procedure involves the superintendent in the resolution process, and the principals of chronically overcrowded schools no longer get a free pass.

Among schools with no history of chronic class size problems, the number of schools reporting oversized classes dropped from 214 on Day 10 to 156 by Day 14. By Oct. 30, the remaining 45 schools had reached district-level resolutions — such as additional preparation time, push-in from paraprofessionals or other teachers or relief from exam proctoring duties — for their 101 oversized classes. By the end of October, all schools that fit the definition of "Chronically Out of Compliance" received relief thanks to the special process for these schools established in the 2018 contract. After a class size labor management committee was unable to resolve the issues in 19 of these schools, the UFT filed demands for arbitration. By Oct. 24, eight of the 19 schools had addressed their issues on their own and an arbitrator had provided relief to the affected teachers in the remaining 11 schools.

Prior to 2018, the union would file hundreds of class size grievances at the start of each school year. Then many of these classes remained over the contractual limits for months — sometimes as late as the following spring — as the union waited for the school's hearing date before an independent arbitrator.

Organize a toy drive at your school

The number of New York City students experiencing homelessness grew to more than 146,000 in the 2023–24 school year, an increase of 26,000 students from the prior year, according to a recent analysis. You can share in the season of joy with these children by organizing a toy drive at your school. The toys should be new and unwrapped for newborns to 16-year-olds. You can deliver toy donations to the Delegate Assembly on Dec. 11. You and your members may also bring toys to a UFT borough office through Friday, Dec. 13. Another option is to shop online and ship toys to the UFT Elementary Schools Division, 52 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10004. You and your members can also make a monetary donation via PayPal, and we will purchase toys on your behalf. Many of the toys will be distributed at our annual holiday party for children in need.

Donate now