Paraprofessionals have been called the backbone of every classroom. Our proposed contract agreement with the city recognizes their contribution to our schools.

Paras help children who have learning or physical disabilities to participate fully, in and out of the classroom. One-on-one paraprofessionals reinforce the teacher’s lesson in the classroom. Paras help disabled students eat, assist with personal hygiene, give wheelchair assistance and carry out other tasks on a student’s Individualized Education Program.

In these many ways, paraprofessionals make sure every child has access to a quality education, no matter what their physical or developmental challenges.

In addition to the across-the-board contractual raises, the proposed contract provides additional longevity payments for paras that will further increase the compensation of all paras.

Just as important, paraprofessionals will have due process rights similar to those of teachers. Gone will be the days when paras worked in fear of long suspensions without pay based on allegations of minor infractions that could take months to investigate. Under the new contract, suspensions without pay will be possible only if a review shows that the case falls into one of the categories of serious misconduct that can result in a teacher’s suspension or if the DOE proves probable cause.

The proposed contract also gives paraprofessionals the same ability as teachers to clear their personal employment records of old charges that did not lead to disciplinary action.

The UFT’s Paraprofessionals Chapter, founded 50 years ago in June 1969, is the fastest growing chapter in the UFT family. It now has 25,000 members. “It’s not a coincidence that as this chapter has grown, the achievement statistics in this city have grown at the same rate,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew said at the annual paraprofessional awards luncheon in March.

Paras are crucial to keeping public schools open and welcoming to every child, unlike private schools and charter schools that often push out children who need the most help.