Parental leave, also known as Paid Parental Leave, provides for 6 weeks of paid leave for eligible employees. Birth mothers, fathers or other partners of birth mothers, adoptive parents and foster parents may be eligible for parental leave.  In the case of birth mothers, these 6 weeks can be supplemented by using CAR days from the day of birth until the CAR days run out, or 6 weeks worth of CAR days have been used (8 weeks in the case of a C-Section).  So, if a birth mother has the days in her bank, she would get 12 weeks (14 in the case of a C-section) of paid leave. Members cannot borrow days or use a grace period when taking parental leave. Members who take Parental Leave commit to returning to the DOE for a minimum of one year following the leave.  

Maternity leave is  a birth mother's right to use CAR days following a birth for 6 weeks (8 in the case of a C-section).  There is no additional right to paid leave.  Birth mothers who take maternity leave are allowed to borrow days and use a grace period within the 6 (or 8 weeks for C-sections) window,  There is no return-to-service requirement under maternity leave, though if a person borrows days, she has to either return to service or repay those days to avoid being billed for them. 

The city continues to provide health insurance in either case. 

Our state affiliate NYSUT has a legal plan service that UFT members are entitled to join. You can find out more about it and enroll online here: http://memberbenefits.nysut.org/program-service/legal-and-financial/legal-service-plan.

Under Chancellor's Regulations, the DOE has a right to re-assign or suspend staff during an investigation. Normally you can not be forced to an out of Borough Reassignment location. Contact your Borough Office immediately if this has happened. 

Unfortunately, there are currently no temperature guidelines requiring schools to use air conditioning, though the union has been pushing for them for some time. There is no regulation mandating an upper temperature limit, only comfort guidelines.

The UFT will address temperature complaints on a case-by-case basis with the DOE Division of School Facilities. Members who want to file a complaint should keep a log of the room temperature and also provide specific information including: 

• Are the rooms in question interior rooms whose only source of air is provided by a mechanical ventilation system? If so, is the mechanical ventilation system working? 
• Are the rooms overcrowded? 
• Are the rooms occupied by special needs students? 
• What are the room temperatures? 

City guidelines recommend city buildings (including schools) maintain their temperature settings on air conditioners at no lower than 78 degrees between May 24 and September 22. For more information, read the City of New York Cooling Season Guidelines.  

If the situation has been caused by a broken central cooling system, notify the union's safety/health department and we will contact the Division of School Facilities to see if repairs are forthcoming.  

Window units that are broken/malfunctioning/nonexistent have to be replaced or purchased by the principal within the school budget. First, a request to fix a broken or malfunctioning window unit may be done internally with the custodian engineer to see if they can troubleshoot the A/C unit issues. If it’s something the custodian cannot repair themselves, any replacement and/or repair of window units come out of the school’s budget. This also is dependent upon whether the school has the electrical capacity to handle the additional load for the units, and there is no requirement for principals to purchase or replace air conditioners. 

Chapter Leaders can try to intervene, especially if there are students with medical needs or IEPs specifying an air conditioned room. Alternatively, schools can relocate students and staff from rooms with no air conditioning to an air conditioned public assembly areas (auditorium, gym or cafeterias) for all or some part of the day as well.

Also see our hot weather precaution guidance »

In general, when students appear intoxicated or under the influence and are present in school, it's the school's responsibility to keep them there until dismissal or a parent/guardian can pick them up. If you become aware of a student under the influence, contact both your school administrator and school safety agent.

These are steps to be taken at the school level:

• Parent notification 
• EMS, depending on the severity of the situation
• Student cannot be allowed to leave the building
• Student must be seen by the school nurse

It is a part of your school safety plan, which you are allowed to read. Ask your Chapter Leader to access your School Safety Plan. 

Instructions to "shelter-in" for a drill or actual emergency means to seek safety within the building one already occupies, rather than to evacuate.

Students are trained to: 

• Remain inside of the building
• Conduct business as usual
• Respond to specific staff instructions

Teachers are trained to: 

• Increase situational awareness
• Conduct business as usual

The shelter-in directive will remain in effect until hearing an "all clear" message followed by specific instructions. 

All schools are trained every September on these General Response Protocols (GRP). You can review the protocols in the UFT's School Safety Manual: https://www.uft.org/sites/default/files/attachments/school-safety-info-manual.pdf.

Alert your schools Administrator and School Safety Agent right away and also contact your UFT borough office: 
 
Bronx: 718-379-6200
Brooklyn: 718-852-4900
Manhattan: 212-598-6800
Queens: 718-275-4400
Staten Is: 718-605-1400

Per Chancellor’s Regulation A-414, every school/campus must establish a School Safety Committee. The committee shall be comprised of the following individuals: the Principal, UFT Chapter Leader, the Custodial Engineer, In-house School Safety Agent, local law enforcement officials, Parent Association President,  Dietician/designee of food services for the site, community members, local ambulance or other emergency response agencies, representative of the student body (when appropriate), and any other persons deemed appropriate by the Principal.

Yes, the union's Member Assistance Program (MAP) has trained professional counselors who can guide you through the problems that can put your health and job in jeopardy. Our services are free, confidential, professional and supportive.

As a UFT member, you may receive short-term individual counseling a trained licensed mental health professional through MAP. MAP also offers referrals to outside mental health services that accept your insurance plan. 

Please call MAP at 212-701-9620 to set up an appointment. You can also contact us via email at mapinfo [at] uft [dot] org (subject: Referral%20request) (mapinfo[at]uft[dot]org). 

In case of an emergency, please call 911. If you need help after hours, please call 1-800-LIFENET, a 24-hour city mental health hotline.