Every UFT member has an official school file. There is only one official school file.
No material derogatory to a teacher's conduct, service, character or personality should be placed in the files unless the teacher has had an opportunity to read the material. The teacher shall acknowledge that they have read the material by affixing their signature to the letter. Signing this material does not signify guilt or agreement with the letter. The member's signature is simply to acknowledge that they have read the document and does not necessarily indicate agreement with the content of the letter.
You have the right to respond to any disciplinary letter in your file. Your response will be attached to the filed copy. It is strongly recommended that you consult your chapter or district representative before attaching your response. Upon appropriate request, a member will be permitted to examine and copy all of the material in the file. If disciplinary charges do not follow, the letter and response will be removed from the fille three years from the date the original material is placed in the file. An incident that has not been reduced to writing within three months of its occurrence, exclusive of the summer vacation period, cannot later be added to the file.
To learn more about your official school file, read Article 21A of the contract. Also see Letter in file »