WHEREAS, special education teachers and related service providers are responsible for creating and maintaining IEPs which requires detailed, individualized progress monitoring to ensure that students with disabilities receive appropriate support and accommodations; and

WHEREAS, the process of writing, reviewing and revising IEPs is time-consuming and involves collaboration with parents, general education teachers and other specialists, requiring significant attention and focus; and

WHEREAS, many special education teachers and related service providers are already managing heavy caseloads, balancing teaching responsibilities, lesson planning, specially designed instruction, behavioral management and other administrative tasks, leaving limited time to complete IEP-related work during the school day; and

WHEREAS, research shows that providing teachers with dedicated time for writing IEPs can improve the quality of the IEPs, ensure better outcomes for students with disabilities, and reduce teacher burnout, which ultimately enhances job satisfaction and retention of special education teachers and related service providers, and area experiencing significant staffing shortages; and

WHEREAS, while special education teachers and related service providers can use the Other Professional Work time to complete this work, this time is often needed to collaborate with teacher teams for co-planning and not all schools have a schedule with Other Professional Work time; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the UFT work to achieve an agreement with the DOE that special education teachers and related service providers be permitted to select the professional assignment of “perform student assessment activities (including IEPs)” and that this choice will be honored if selected; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the UFT will continue to fight for additional time during the school day for special education teachers and related service providers to work on IEPs to ensure that students with disabilities receive the best possible educational experience and so that teachers can fulfill their professional responsibilities effectively.