You can view the status of your leave application by logging into SOLAS: https://apps.schools.nyc/solas.
Once you log in using your DOE/Network ID and password, select “I would like to View the Details of my Leave Application” to view your Checklist. The Checklist shows the current status of the application process, including any determinations that have been made.

For more information about using SOLAS, see the SOLAS FAQ page here: https://www.uft.org/sites/default/files/attachments/solas-faq.pdf

If you have lost or cannot remember your password for the Self-Service Online Leave Application System, you can use the "Password Recovery and Account Confirmation Tool"  on the NYCDOE website to recover or reset your password.

Here is a link to the password and profile management page on the NYCDOE website: https://idm.nycenet.edu/itim/self/jsp/logon/login.jsp

Here is a helpful link to the Info Hub on the NYCDOE website:
https://infohub.nyced.org/resources/employee-info/diit-helpdesk/change-your-password

For more information about using SOLAS, see the SOLAS FAQ page here: https://www.uft.org/sites/default/files/attachments/solas-faq.pdf

SOLAS is an online system designed to streamline the leave application process for DOE employees. SOLAS makes it easier to apply for a leave of absence and upload the necessary supporting documentation. The link to access SOLAS online is https://apps.schools.nyc/solas.

For more information about using SOLAS, see the SOLAS FAQ page here: https://www.uft.org/sites/default/files/attachments/solas-faq.pdf

Currently, ONLY non-supervisory pedagogical employees will have access to SOLAS. Non-supervisory pedagogical titles include: Teachers, School Psychologists, Guidance Counselors, School Social Workers, Librarians, Attendance Teachers, School Secretarial Staff, and Laboratory Specialists. At a later date, all employees will be able to use SOLAS.

For more information about using SOLAS, see the SOLAS FAQ page here:  https://www.uft.org/sites/default/files/attachments/solas-faq.pdf

Yes, as long as you are a UFT member. The discount vendors on the UFT app/website provide their discounts to ALL of the UFT’s members.

As chapter leader, your responsibilities include the following:

• Holding at least six regularly scheduled chapter meetings each year.
• Forming a chapter consultation committee,meeting monthly with the committee and the principal, and reporting the results of the meeting to the chapter.
• Representing all chapter members in informal resolutions of problems with the administration and in grievances.
• Involving the chapter with the union by advising members of meetings, programs, rallies and other activities.
• Attending Delegate Assembly, district and citywide chapter leader meetings and divisional meetings where the concerns of the chapter can be transmitted.
• Explaining VOTE/COPE to the members and collecting VOTE/COPE checkoff cards.
• Explaining the union’s positions to members.
• Providing for informal resolution of problems between members.
• Serving as a resource for members about pensions, health coverage and other matters.
• Providing regular communications to chapter members (emails, electronic or print newsletters) and maintaining the UFT bulletin board.
• Working with the district representative and other union representatives.
• Inviting union speakers into school regularly: officers, staff, the district representative, Welfare Fund speakers and pension experts.
• Contacting and lobbying politicians.
• Registering members to vote.
• Working with parent groups.
• Taking the lead in seeking to ensure that the health, welfare and rights of members are protected.
• Disseminating UFT materials via members’ mailboxes and/or electronically.
• Conducting letter-writing campaigns and other union activities.
• Attending training sessions in order to serve the members better.
• Distributing Welfare Fund forms.
• Protecting the confidentiality of all members.
• Involving newer members and members of functional chapters in the life of the school chapter.
• Ensuring that the negotiated contracts are enforced and implemented at the school level, and that UFT members’ rights and benefits are protected.
• Leading the chapter in discussion, development and implementation of educational policies in the school in accordance with union policy.
• Functioning as the chapter’s historian,keeping records that need to be handed down.

Unless there are special circumstances, you will not be eligible for a parental leave if you do not submit an application within 10 days of the birth. Late applications will be accepted and subject to review for valid special circumstances, which could relate to, but is not limited to, one of the following: a medical condition of the employee or the employee's family member, a premature birth, a death in the family, or reasonable travel necessary to adopt a child. 

For delivering parents, failure to submit during the proper time frame may result in being placed into a limited version of Traditional Maternity Leave WITHOUT the right to borrow days or to use a grace period. 

Your parental leave application also serves as an official notice to your school or work office of your intentions of how long you plan to be out so that they can prepare for your absence. You are encouraged to directly discuss your plans with your supervisor as well. You are able to amend your application and leave plans later if your intentions change. 

No. If a non-work date (eg, holiday, school vacation, weekend, etc.) occurs during your 6 weeks of parental leave, it is included within that time frame and will not extend the duration of your leave. Non-birth parents who must start their parental leave on the date of the event will do so even if that falls on a non-work day (other than summer vacation for school year employees). However, if you are a birth mother who is using your CAR/sick time for a  six (or eight, for C-sections) week recovery period after birth and prior to parental leave, paid holidays and vacations can count toward that time without charge to your CAR/sick time.

No. Individuals who work F-status are not entitled to Parental Leave. Time worked F-status will also not count towards eligibility to take Parental Leave.