The following guidance was sent to all DOE-employed speech teachers, occupational therapists and physical therapists from UFT President Michael Mulgrew on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020.

In such an uncertain time, the UFT is fighting for common-sense working conditions for all titles in our membership. To that end, we have reached agreement with the Department of Education on some changes in working conditions for occupational and physical therapists and speech teachers for the 2020-21 school year.

Itinerant employees will not have to report to multiple worksites. If you have a payroll school, but you are split among two or more schools, you will only report to your payroll school until further notice. If you don’t have a payroll school, you will be assigned to only one school, as designated by your supervisor, and your responsibilities in other schools can be handled remotely.

Our new agreement also limits the number of sessions that occupational and physical therapists and speech teachers can be asked to do in-person. While New York City public schools are using the blended model, you can be asked to do a maximum of six in-person sessions. The remaining sessions (up to eight when combined with the in-person sessions) can only be for remote students, and you can conduct those sessions remotely. The remote sessions must be held at a time that is mutually agreeable for you and the families of the students you serve. If you have a workday when you have no in-person students, you will not have to report to the school building. You can, however, report to the building if you want, space permitting. It is your decision.

The combined time that you are in the school building plus your remote sessions cannot exceed your contractual work hours.

See the full agreement »

If you have any questions, please call the UFT Contact Center on weekdays at 212-331-6311.