Administrative tasks get in the way of their students’ learning, according to 87% of educators in the union's new survey of its school-based members, who handed out a leaflet with the poll results across the five boroughs during a Week of Action in April as part of the union's fight for a fair contract.

An Oklahoma board approved the nation’s first religious charter school, agreeing to publicly fund a school where Catholic teachings will be incorporated into lessons throughout the day — and testing the constitutional bounds of taxpayer funding for religious education.

Tom Brown, the assistant treasurer of the UFT, was reelected in May to serve his fourth three-year term as a trustee on the board of the Teachers’ Retirement System. Brown was appointed chairman of the board in January after Debra Penny, the UFT treasurer, stepped down from the post.

Following passage of a state budget that allows 14 new charter schools to open in New York City, the UFT and other public education advocates are demanding more transparency and accountability from the charter sector.

The state budget adopted on May 2 includes a substantial increase in state aid for New York City schools. City schools will receive an additional $525 million, a 4.2$ increase over last year.

Former Brooklyn elementary school teacher Andy Pallotta, who led the New York State United Teachers for six years, stepped down as union president at the annual Representative Assembly in Albany in April, while the convention honored UFT members with five of its 10 NYSUT awards of excellence.