Unity Caucus Leads the Way: A New Era for Special Education Compliance

UFT VP for Special Education and Unity Caucus member MaryJo Ginese on our newly created school based special education committees and how we can use them to hold the city accountable

MaryJo Ginese is the UFT Vice President for Special Education and a member of Unity Caucus

In 2023, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) took a strong stand during contract negotiations to address an important issue: the Department of Education’s (DOE) failure to prioritize Special Education and meet the requirements of students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

Determined to address this issue, members of the Unity Caucus worked hard in the Special Education negotiation subcommittee to hold the DOE accountable for their neglect. Their leadership and advocacy led to a groundbreaking agreement between the United Federation of Teachers and the Department of Education: to create a joint training on Special Education rules and regulations. This training ensures that all school staff receive consistent and thorough education on these important rules. 

The training, which must be co-presented annually by both the UFT Chapter Leader and the school’s principal, is delivered on or before Election Day each year. Having a joint understanding of special education rules and regulations will improve compliance and ensure that principals are held accountable when they are not providing students with their legally mandated special education programming and related services.

To prepare chapter leaders and principals to be able to present this training, the UFT and the DOE conducted three successful “Train the Trainer” sessions in early September. Over 1,600 Chapter Leaders and principals participated in these sessions. For those who could not attend the live sessions, a recording of the training, the Facilitator’s Guide, and all training materials are available on the UFT website. 

While there is still a lot of work to be done, this training marks the beginning of a year-long campaign that the Union will be running to hold the Department accountable to students with special needs in the City of New York and to the UFT members that fight every day to protect those students. If you believe that the Department of Education is not meeting their obligations to our students with special needs and you are interested in engaging in this work reach out to your chapter leader to learn more about the committee in your school.