MATERNITY LEAVE

It was not so long ago that women had to leave the classroom as soon as they “showed.” Today you can start your unpaid maternity leave at any time during your pregnancy, but it must end six weeks after the birth of your baby. If your recuperation requires more time and you have medical documentation, you can use your CAR (sick bank) or borrow up to 20 sick days if necessary. You also are entitled to a grace period, which pays you for all weekends and holidays for the calendar month following the exhaustion of the days in your sick bank. Your payroll secretary can tell you how many days remain in your sick band and can give you the necessary forms to apply for your leave of absence. Call your borough office if you have questions (1-718-275-4400).
If you are disabled as the result of pregnancy, and you have medical documentation, the UFT Welfare Fund will pay for up to eight additional months of medical benefits identical to what you had while working.
Either parent can apply for a child-care leave, which begins six weeks after the birth of your baby and can last for a period of up to four years from the following September. Again, your school secretary can give you the necessary forms to fill out.
For further information, see “Not for Women Only” at www.uft.org -- click on Member Services and then Publications. If you have questions, call your UFT borough office for assistance.
Also see Leaves of Absence.

LUNCH PERIODS

You are entitled to a duty-free lunch period. This was a strike issue in the 1960s. Duty-free means just that. It’s free of any and all duty assignments.
If you teach in an elementary school, you must have a daily 50-minute duty-free lunch period. In a secondary school, you must receive a full period of duty-free lunch each day. The only exception to these time frames is when you are conducting school activities outside of the school building, such as a class trip.

LETTER IN FILE

Before any letter is placed in your file, you must be given an opportunity to read it and acknowledge its receipt by signing it. If the letter is negative, you should write a response, detailing why you disagree with its contents. You should speak with your chapter leader, who can help you write an appropriate response and advise you on any other possible course of action, including procedural matters that may be grievable. The response should be attached to the original letter in your file; your supervisor cannot respond to your response.
If the letter is not used as the basis for disciplinary procedure for three years, under a new provision you can (and should) have it removed from your file. Talk to your chapter leader about how to do this.
Also see Official School File.

LESSON PLANS

For many years, supervisors collected lesson plans en masse and dictated a strict format, but that is no longer permitted under the teachers’ contract as a result of contract changes in the 1990s. As the educator responsible for providing classroom instruction to your students, you are responsible for developing lesson plans and can determine their format, organization, notation and content. Your supervisor may suggest, but cannot require or insist upon, a particular format unless you have received, or are about to receive, a “U” rating. Your supervisor may enter your classroom and ask to see your lesson plan, at any time, but cannot collect them on a regular basis. If you need help perfecting your lesson plans, you should contact your mentor (if you have one); math or literacy coach or lead teacher (if your school has them); or the UFT Teacher Center (1-212-598-9500).

LENGTH OF SCHOOL YEAR

Teachers begin the school year on the Thursday preceding Labor Day. The two days before Labor Day (Thursday and Friday) must include time for classroom preparation. Those two days, as well as Election Day and Brooklyn-Queens Day (the first Thursday in June), are fro professional development; students are not present. The school year ends on the weekday before the last two weekdays of June. In addition, there are three recesses – winter, mid-winter and spring recess as well as several holidays in the school year. Please consult the calendar as the school year can vary depending on when the holidays fall.

LENGTH OF SCHOOL DAY

If you are serving in a single-session school, your school day consists of six hours 20 minutes and a 37.5 minute extended time session Monday through Thursday following student dismissal. The day must start no earlier then 8 a.m. and end no later than 3:45 p.m. Friday’s schedule is six hours and 20 minutes. There is one faculty conference and one grade/department conference each month, for up to no more than 40 minutes within those same hours, except in September and June, when conferences must be held within regular school hours.
If you’re in a multi-session school, the school day is six hours and 50 minutes. District 75 schools also have a six-hour-and-50-minute school day unless the principal and chapter agree to the single-session-school schedule.
Also see Tutoring Sessions.

LEGAL ASSISTANCE

If you face criminal or civil charges as a result of disciplinary actions taken against a pupil while you were doing your job, the DOE will provide you with legal representation. You should immediately contact your district representative or your UFT borough office for assistance in getting a DOE attorney.
To protect your right to representation, you must provide two agencies with copies of any legal papers with which you have been served (such as a criminal summons or a civil complaint). The first is the DOE’s Office of Legal Services (1-212-374-6888); the second is the city’s Corporation Counsel (100 Church St., New York NY 10007; phone 1-212-788-0303). You must give each agency copies of the paperwork within 10 days of being served, although the UFT recommends doing this within five days.
There’s one additional step worth taking. At the same time you contact the DOE and Corporation Counsel, ask your UFT borough office for an application for the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) – our statewide affiliate – Legal Defense Fund. If you are fully exonerated of all charges, this fund will reimburse you for up to $25,000 in legal fees.

LEAD TEACHERS

The lead teacher position, negotiated citywide after a successful Bronx trial co-sponsored by the UFT and parent groups, creates a career ladder for teachers who wish to advance professionally without becoming administrators. It also provides a way that the system can improve struggling schools while offering additional pay to retain master teachers in our profession, with selection being based on what, not who a teacher knows.
Lead teachers teach for a portion of the school day and provide professional development for the rest. Lead teachers have an extended work year and work additional hours, and are paid more than a classroom teacher’s regular salary.
Lead teacher positions are advertised in a citywide posting. A regional committee determines the pool of candidates to be interviewed and selection is made at the school level. You may file a grievance if the regional committee does not forward your application to the school committee.

LEAD TEACHERS

The lead teacher position, negotiated citywide after a successful Bronx trial co-sponsored by the UFT and parent groups, creates a career ladder for teachers who wish to advance professionally without becoming administrators. It also provides a way that the system can improve struggling schools while offering additional pay to retain master teachers in our profession, with selection being based on what, not who a teacher knows.
Lead teachers teach for a portion of the school day and provide professional development for the rest. Lead teachers have an extended work year and work additional hours, and are paid more than a classroom teacher’s regular salary.
Lead teacher positions are advertised in a citywide posting. A regional committee determines the pool of candidates to be interviewed and selection is made at the school level. You may file a grievance if the regional committee does not forward your application to the school committee.

JURY DUTY

You are entitled to full pay for time spent on jury duty. Your time away from school is classified as a nonattendance day.

JOB SECURITY

Although teachers are not “guaranteed a job for life,” as critics often say, it is true that, after completing a probationary period, teachers in New York State may generally be fired except in two instances: The first is for serious cause, defined in state law, that must be substantiated by the DOE in a due process hearing before an independent arbitration panel. The second has been a “reduction in force” – layoffs because position have been eliminated, usually due to funding cuts. In the past, recently hired New York City teachers often found themselves without jobs whenever student enrollment declined, even if only temporarily.
Step by step, the UFT has negotiated greater and greater protections into its contracts to provide qualified pedagogues with the reasonable expectation that their jobs will be secure. In 2005 the union negotiated a new excessing and transfer plan that that effectively guaranteed every satisfactorily rated educator a position, despite school closings and funding swings. Except in the rare case of a citywide fiscal emergency (such as last occurred for teachers in 1975), teachers whose positions have been eliminated and have failed to secure another placement may remain in Absent Teacher Reserves in or near their old school at full pay until an appropriate position becomes available.
Also see Excessing, Disciplinary Actions, Tenure.

INSUBORDINATION

Failure to follow an administrator’s directive could be considered an act of insubordination and could lead to disciplinary action against you. If an administrator gives you a directive that you know violates the contract, you must obey it and then file a grievance. Through the grievance process, the union will seek a remedy that will deter your supervisor from contractual violation. The only exception to the “obey now and grieve later” rule is if obeying the directive would put your safety or the safety of others in real danger, or if it would violate the law. However, before disobeying any directive, be sure to speak to your chapter leader.

INJURY IN THE LINE OF DUTY (ILOD)

On-the-job injuries may occur due to accident or assault. Whatever the cause, you must notify your principal or his or her designee within 24 hours of the injury and complete the DOE’S Occurrence Report. If possible, you should report the injury before you leave school on the day the injury occurs.
You are required to fill out a Comprehensive Injury Report and the superintendent is required to approve it within five school days of the occurrence. If the superintendent fails to approve the Injury Report, you should speak to your chapter leader about filing a grievance.
If you were assaulted, you also should complete a UFT Safety/ Incident Report and contact the UFT’s Victim Support Program (1-212-598-6853). If your injury prohibits you from writing, your chapter leader or a colleague may assist you. If there were witnesses to the injury, they should write statements and attach them to the Comprehensive Injury Report.
Your chapter leader and district representative can explain your rights with respect to any absences that may result from the injury or assault. Your UFT borough office, as well as the union’s Victim Support Program, can advise you about your right to sue, bring charges, request a medical leave of absence and all the other options available to you as a result of your injury. If you have received injury- in-the-line-of-duty-status from the medical bureau, the DOE will reimburse you for up to $750 in medical expenses related to the injury that were not paid by your insurance carrier. There is no limit on the reimbursement of medical expenses if you were assaulted.
Also see Assaults, Medical Arbitration.

HOMEROOM

Homerooms have faded from most high schools but are still popular in many junior high schools. These periods are generally used to establish the tone for the school day. During this time, teachers do administrative tasks, such as taking attendance, distributing notices for parents and making announcements.
If you are assigned a homeroom, you are relieved of selecting a professional menu activity to perform during your professional period. If you are not assigned a homeroom but are asked to cover a homeroom for an absent teacher, you will be paid at the contractual coverage rate of pay as soon as you have completed the equivalent of a full teaching period.
Also see Professional Activity Options.

HEALTH BENEFITS

There are two parts to UFT members’ health coverage. As an employee with a regular assignment in the Department of Education, you are entitled to a choice of several health plans offered by the City of New York. Your choice will provide you and your dependents with both medical and hospital care. Eligible dependents include: legally married spouse, domestic partner and unmarried children to age 19, or 23 if a full-time student. Details of the health plans are published in the New York Teacher each fall during the transfer period (when you can change your insurance provider) and are available at www. Uft.org. – click on Member Services and then Publications and go to Health Benefits to read “Before You Choose, Know.
To supplement the health plan, our UFT Welfare Fund provides coverage to eligible members and their dependents for prescription drugs, dental, optical, hearing aid, disability (including maternity) and other supplementary benefits.
There are no waiting periods for eligible UFT members for both the city coverage and the Welfare Fund. Coverage begins with your initial day of employment; therefore it is important to enroll in both Welfare Fund (enrollment forms are available online at www.uftwf.org ). Until you receive your UFT Welfare Fund drug card, you should purchase the prescription drugs you and your dependents may need, and once their card arrives, submit the original receptias to the Fund for reimbursement.
For further information see the “Red Apple,” at www.uftwf.org -- click on Red Apple (in service) on the left.

HARASSMENT BY SUPERVISORS (SPECIAL COMPLAINT)

It’s sad to say, but UFT members sometimes report that supervisors have harassed them. This may take the form of sexual harassment, biased acts or remarks, public ridicule, etc. It may be due to anti-union animus, personal grudges or just power trips.
You do not have to – nor should you – tolerate such harassment. A special complaint process was negotiated in the 1990s to protect your from coercion and intimidation by your supervisors. If you believe that you are the victim of supervisory harassment, tell your chapter immediately.
The first thing you should do is keep an anecdotal log indicating the place, time, date and witnesses of every incident. Also, the UFT has an e-mail address, iamharassed@uft.org, to which you can send details of your harassment. A UFT representative will respond and help you fight this offensive and demoralizing conduct.

GRIEVANCES

Grievances are the way union-represented staffers enforce their contract and protect their rights. You cannot be disciplined or discriminated against for exercising your rights. If you believe that a supervisor has violated your contractual rights and you and your chapter leader have been unable to resolve your complaint, you should file a grievance against the DOE. Your chapter leader and district representative will help you prepare the grievance, citing the violated contract clause, and represent you at the hearing. In certain instances, your chapter leader can file a grievance on your behalf (i.e., class size, mandated consultation, postings, program deadlines). If necessary the union will consider taking the grievance to the final appeal, arbitration in front of an independent neutral, selected jointly and paid for equally by the DOE and the UFT.

GRADES

The UFT believes that you are the best judge of a student’s achievement. Some supervisors have pressured teachers to pass undeserving students or, without the teacher’s consent, have unilaterally changed student grades. If this happens to you, immediately tell your chapter leader. To preserve the integrity of the grades you give your students, our contract requires supervisors to notify you in writing of the reason they have changed one of your student’s grades

FALSE ACCUSATIONS

UFT members have been falsely accused of sexual misconduct or physical abuse involving students. In another recently won right, if you are falsely accused of those or other crimes and it is determined that the allegations were knowingly false when they were made, the DOE will remove all references of the allegations from your personnel file, restore any lost pay with interest, and permanently reassign the student from your class.
Also see Corporal Punishment, Verbal Abuse

EXCESSIVE ABSENCES/ LATENESS

If you are tenured and you are excessively absent or late, the DOE has the right, with sufficient notice, to summon you to a hearing about your conduct. It is critical that you alert the union as soon as you are summoned so a union lawyer can assist you at the hearing and can review the documentation the DOE must provide you. The hearing officer cannot terminate you but can levy penalties against you.
If you are not tenured and you are excessively absent or late, you may receive a letter for your official file. You also may be subject to an unsatisfactory (“U”) rating and/or discontinuance of your probation (in other words, termination). You should contact your chapter leader immediately so that you can be provided with the proper advice and representation.

EXCESSING

There are times when a school reduces the size of its faculty such as when it experiences an unexpected drop in student enrollment, loses a budget line or pursuant to state or federal law, is being closed, redesigned or phased out. This is called “excessing.” In effect, no later than the 15th day of a school term, the least senior in the license area being downsized is declared in “excess.” Under the so-called “open market” system, our contract provides excessed teachers with significant job protections. For example, if you are excessed, you have access to a current list of all vacant positions in the city (they are posted online) and can apply for any or all of them in your license area. Most important, except in the rare case of a citywide fiscal emergency, you can no longer be laid off.
If you do not get hired right away, or if you do not apply for any position, the DOE may send you for interviews within your district or region. If you are not hired, you will be assigned to the Absent Teacher Reserve (ATR) in your original school or district until an open position arises. There you will be available to substitute for absent teachers while continuing to receive your regular pay and benefits. Unless a layoff situation exists, the UFT and DOE agreed to stop any bumping less senior teachers from their positions.
Starting in the 2007-08 school year, the DOE may decide to offer a voluntary severance program. If it offers one, the amount must be negotiated and it must be offered to anyone excessed for a year or more. If an excessee accepts the buyout, he or she must either resign or retire.
Also see Job Security, Redisigned Schools, Transfers

ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

The DOE is required, under our contract and federal and state regulations, to provide a workplace free of recognized hazard, one that is safe, secure and well maintained.
The DOE is required to provide training to protect you against hazards that you are likely to encounter, including but not limited to dealing with blood that may carry disease, spilled cleaning products and damaged insulation that may contain asbestos. Those who work in science laboratories and vocational shops also must receive training on hazards specific to their facilities.
To ensure that the DOE adheres to our contract and the law, the union’s Safety and Health Committee has experts in each borough to respond to your environmental health and safety complaints or concerns. (It’s best to have your chapter leader contact them.) These concerns can include, but are not limited to, asbestos, lead paint, mold, rodents, indoor air quality, construction and renovation, communicable diseases and ergonomic hazards like lifting and transferring students with limited mobility.

DISRUPTIVE CHILDREN – BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

If a student in your class is very disruptive, you have the right to have that child removed for a single period, a single day or up to four days. The removal process is spelled out in Chancellor’s Regulation A-443 (Student Disciplinary Procedures), a booklet that parents, children and staff are supposed to receive at the beginning of the school year. You also can find the rules online at the DOE Web site: http://schools.nyc.gov -- click on View All Tools and Resources, then on Chancellor’s Regulations and on A-443.
Before beginning the process, you should first let the student know that he or she is in danger of being removed from the class and listen to his or her version. If you are still convinced of the necessity for the removal, talk to the principal and complete a “Student Removal Form.” If the principal doesn’t help, ask your chapter leader about filing a grievance under contract Article 9 and Appendix B.
Make sure you maintain an anecdotal log of the child’s behavior for any hearings that occur. For your log you can use the student removal form, which asks you to specify the disruptive activities as well as the interventions that you have taken.
The procedure for removing disruptive students is also covered under a state law that was championed by the UFT. Among other provisions, the Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act (SAVE) requires each school to have a removal procedure and an alternative site (i.e., SAVE room) wither the child can receive instruction and other supports and interventions. You have the right to file an expedited appeal to the chancellor if you have followed the procedure and your principal refuses to remove a disruptive student from your class or returns the student sooner than what you agree to. See your chapter leader for the details of your school plan.
As a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision, the procedures are different for children with disabilities who exhibit disruptive behavior. These issues should be addressed in the child’s IEP. In some cases it may be appropriate to do a re-evaluation and/or a change in dangerous behavior, there are special procedures to follow; contact your district representative for assistance.
Also see Safety.

DISCRIMINATION

The Department of Education and its employees are prohibited from discrimination against you on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, age, handicapping condition or membership in, participation in or association with the activities or any employee organization. That means that the principal cannot discriminate against you, discipline you or retaliate against you for exercising your contractual rights, e.g., filing a grievance, being a union activist or participating in a union protest. If you believe that you are being discriminated against, you should immediately contact your chapter leader and district representative. Our contract, along with state and federal laws, provides protections for you that will fight such discriminations.

DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS

State education law (section 3020-a) provides for the disciplining or termination of a tenured teacher for specific charges, such as incompetence, insubordination, corporal punishment, sexual misconduct, etc. Despite many attempts to undercut it, state law also requires due process so that educators cannot be terminated or disciplined unfairly.
If your principal tells you that you are being brought up on any of those charges, inform the chapter leader immediately so the union can provide you with legal representation at the 3020a hearing, which will be conducted by either a single arbitrator or a panel. If the charges are sustained, the discipline may range from fines to suspension to the loss of your job or even your teaching license.
In some cases, teachers awaiting such charges are removed from their schools and assigned to Temporary Reassignment Centers until their cases are adjudicated. In that case, you must be formally charged within six months or returned to your school. You are paid during this time unless you have been charged with sexual misconduct with a student or minor, or a felony involving firearms, drugs on your job, or any crime involving physical abuse of a student or minor. If you are charged with any of these, the DOE can ask for a hearing to decide whether or not you can be suspended without pay.
Also see Summons.

DAMAGED OR STOLEN PROPERTY

If your personal property (including your car) is damaged, destroyed or stolen while you are on duty or on a school trip and you have not been negligent, the DOE will reimburse you for up to $100 that is not covered by insureance.

CUMULATIVE ABSENCE RESERVE (CAR)

This is the formal name for you “sick bank.” You are credited with one day of “sick leave” on the 16th of each month of the school year, or 10 days for a full school year of work. If you are regularly appointed, you can accumulate up to 200 days of sick leave during your career.
When you leave service with the DOE, you will be reimbursed for up to one-half of your unused days at the rate of 1/200th of your then-current yearly salary per reimbursed day. You will b paid in three equal installments, payable at two months, 14 months and 26 months following the date of resignation, retirement or termination. Speak to your payroll secretary about the forms you must file to receive this money.
If you have exhausted all the days in your CAR and are ill, you may request to borrow a maximum of 20 additional sick days and your request will automatically be granted. If you fail to pay these back by the time your retire or resign, the DOE can deduct a sum of money from your termination pay to cover the cost. Ask your payroll secretary about the various ways you can pay back this time.
Also see Excessive Absences/Lateness, Leaves of Absence, Sabbaticals.

COURT APPEARANCES

If you are summoned to court as a result of a legal action stemming from the performance of your duties, the DOE’s Office of Legal Services (1-212- 374-6888) will represent you. You should notify your chapter leader and district representative as soon as you are informed that you are to report to court. If you were assaulted in school and press charges, your days in court are treated as nonattendance days with pay. When notified, the UFT Victim Support Program (1-212-598-6853) will send a representative to accompany you to the court hearing. Also see Legal Assistance.

COUNSELING MEMOS

On occasion, a principal may write you a memorandum to make you aware of a specific rule, regulation, policy, procedure or school practice. The memo cannot include any disciplinary action or threat of disciplinary action. It must be labeled “Counseling Memo” at the top and in bold letters. It cannot refer to any incident more than four months earlier than the date of the memo. It also must be given to you within one month of the latest incident it mentions. The counseling memo cannot be used in any evaluation of you (yearly rating of per session rating) and must be removed from your file three years after the latest incident stated in the memo.

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

City laws and Chancellor’s Regulation A-420 prohibit the use of physical force against students. While corporal punishment rarely occurs, some staff have been charged with that offense for having physical contact with a student, such as when breaking up a fight. In general, you should attempt to defuse a student altercation by using verbal, rather than physical means. However, you may use physical force in self-defense or to protect a person or school property. If you are accused of corporal punishment, speak with your chapter leader immediately and ask for union help.
Supervisors are required to immediately report all allegations of corporal punishment to the DOE. In most instances, they will be instructed to investigate the allegation. We strongly recommend that you do not speak to the principal and/or any investigator without a union representative present, even if the allegation is false. If the allegation is sustained, you could be terminated or reassigned to another school or site. Starting in the 2007-08 school year, if the allegations of corporal punishment are found to be unsubstantiated, all references to the allegations will be removed from your file. Also see Disciplinary Actions, False Accusations, Verbal Abuse

CLASS COVERAGES

When a teacher is absent, the principal should always attempt to cover that class, preferably with a substitute teacher. When a substitute is not available, the principal should first ask for volunteers and, if that doesn’t work, He can assign you to provide coverage. As a last resort, the principal can break up the class and spread its students among similar classes.
In elementary schools, the practice of breaking up classes is strongly discouraged; if this is a common occurrence in your school, you should notify your chapter leader and district representative immediately. Except in an emergency, your preparation period should not be lost to an involuntary class coverage. Principals should always seek volunteers before assigning someone involuntarily to cover a class.
If you teach in a secondary school, you can be assigned a class coverage on your preparation or professional period. Just as in the elementary schools, principals should seek volunteers before assigning someone involuntarily.
Regardless of whether you teach in an elementary or secondary school, all class coverages should be assigned on a rotating basis among those available. You don’t get paid for your first class coverage per term, but you will be paid for each additional coverage – whether assigned voluntarily or involuntarily – at the contractual rate of pay.

CIRCULAR 6R

(Professional Menu) see Compensatory Time Positions, Professional Activity Options, Professional Activity Procedures, School-Based Options.

CHILD ABUSE

If you have a reasonable suspicion that a student has been abused, maltreated or neglected, you are required by law to immediately report it to your principal or his or her designee. Your job is to report the suspicion, not to investigate it. Your principal must forward your report to the state’s Central Register for Child Abuse and Maltreatment. He or she must inform you within one school day that the report was filed and give you the report number. If the report is not filed, you are obligated to phone in the report yourself to the Central Register (1-800-342-3720). If your suspicion of abuse involves a special education student, you should inform the principal and Central Register of the child’s handicapping condition.
If you suspect child abuse and fail to report it, you may be subject to disciplinary action by the DOE, as well as be civilly or even criminally liable for any injury to the child. At the same time, if you report and you are wrong, you will be protected from any adverse disciplinary legal action.
As part of state certification requirements, you must take a two-hour course in child abuse recognition and reporting procedures. The UFT regularly offers this low-cost course, which is listed in the New York Teacher educational supplement that’s mailed to your home in August, January and June. You can also find the listings online at www.ufttc.org -- click on Conferences.

BULLETIN BOARDS

If you are required to do classroom or hall bulletin boards, their format is up to you. In a right won recently, your principal cannot dictate how they look or discipline you for their format.
Also see Micromanagement

ATTENDANCE PROCEDURES

Teachers were once required to punch in and out with a time clock, but the UFT won the elimination of that vestige of factory-model teaching in the 1990’s. Today, the principal must consult with the UFT chapter committee and many have jointly established procedures for keeping track of staff and attendance and lateness.
Also see Absences, Excessive Absences/Lateness

ASSAULTS

If you are assaulted, threatened, cursed at or verbally harassed on school grounds by anyone – a student, a parent, an intruder or anyone else – you should immediately notify your principal and UFT chapter leader. This applies whether or not you suffer any physical injuries. You must file an Occurrence Report and Comprehensive Injury Report within 24 hours of the assault detailing what transpired. If you are unable to fill out the reports due to injuries, your chapter leader and/or a colleague can do that for you. If you are unsure whether what happened to you constitutes an assault, you should still fill out both reports.
You also should file a UFT Safety/Incident Report online, at www.uft.org -- click on Safety/Discipline report on the home page. You can also get the form from your chapter leader. Once you’ve completed it, fax it to the UFT Safety Department (1 212-677-6612). If your injuries prevent you from filling out the UFT Safety/Incident Report, you or your chapter leader should call your UFT borough office. In an emergency, you can get immediate union assistance by calling the UFT Safety and Health hotline at 1 212 707-9407 between 8 am and 7 pm.
Your chapter leader will notify your UFT district representative and the union’s Victim Support Program (1-212-598-6853) of the incident. If you need or want help, the Victim Support Program will provide you with counseling, legal advice, help dealing with medical matters and violence-prevention training. You might also consider pressing charges against the assailant.
Your principal is required to investigate what happened to you and write a full report, which h should include statements by all the witnesses who were present during the incident. You must sign the report to acknowledge that you have seen it, but you can attach a statement of your own if you don’t believe it adequately stated the facts. Finally, you or your chapter leader should make sure that your principal has notified the DOE’s Office of Legal Services (1-212-374-6888) and the Director of School Safety (1-718-730-8800) within 24 hours.
Also see Court Appearances, Injury in the line of Duty, School Safety, Victim Support Program.

ARRESTS

If the police should arrest you in school for any reason – work-related or not – you or your chapter leader should call the UFT borough office immediately for assistance. You should give the UFT representative the name and precinct of the arresting officer along with any other details you have regarding the arrest. If you are arrested, you must notify your principal and the Office of Personnel Investigation in writing (Chancellor’s Regulation C-105). The UFT will provide legal assistance if you are arraigned. If you are arrested for any actions arising out of the disciplining of a student, you should immediately apply to both the DOE and the city Corporation Counsel for representation.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSIGNMENTS

With certain explicit exceptions, administrative assignments are prohibited unless the school chapter votes to create them through an approved school-based option [see SBO]. The exceptions are cafeteria duty, yard duty, hall patrol, AM/PM bus duty and homeroom. If you wish to be assigned to one of those activities, you should rank it in priority order on your professional period preference sheet. If you are given an administrative assignment, you cannot be involuntarily assigned to another administrative assignment the following year.
Also see Professional Activity Options; Professional Activity Procedures; Program Preference.

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

As someone committed to public education who sees close up the conditions in which our students learn and live, you are in a unique position to help influence public policy. Over the years, the UFT has often called upon its members to speak their minds and tell the truth in lobbying visits, at legislative hearings, public forums and print and broadcast interviews. You can do this without fear of retribution. You have the right to comment on Department of Education policies publicly, but you should make it clear that you are speaking for yourself only. If any official should attempt to pressure you against speaking your mind or retaliate against you for doing so, the UFT will stand with you. However, the union strongly advises you to consult with your UFT district representative before taking such action.

ABSENCES

If you are absent from school because of illness, you will be paid for up to 10 days in any school year without needing to submit a doctor’s note. These are known as “self-treated days.” If you take more than 10 self-treated days in any school year, you will not be paid for those additional absences unless you submit a doctor’s note, even if you have accumulated days in your Cumulative Absence Reserve (CAR). Wherever possible, you should submit medical certification for each day you are absent to preserve as many of your self-treated days as possible.
You can use three of those 10 days for personal business, provided that you give reasonable notice to your principal. Personal business is officially defined as something that cannot be done at any time other than a school day, during school hours. Two of these three personal business days may be sued to care for family members who are ill.
If you have exhausted all the days in your CAR (commonly known as your “sick bank”) and you are regularly appointed, you may borrow up to 20 additional sick days. Regardless of the nature of your absences, it is most important that you call your school each day and notify the principal that you will be absent.
Absences due to childhood illnesses that are listed in our contract (German measles, mumps and chicken pox), for the death of a member of your immediate family or to appear in court as a juror or witness are considered “non-attendance” days and are not deducted from your CAR. Your chapter leader can advise you about the forms you must file for these days.
Also see Attendance Procedures; Cumulative Absence Reserve; Excessive Absences, Lateness.