Peter Ianniello on the Policy of Not Hiring Retirees For 5 Years If Retiree Received A U-Rating On An APPR End-of-Year Rating Sheet

Dr. Peter Ianniello

Any teacher who gets a "U" rating on an Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) and then retires either that school year, or prior to the end of the fifth school year after that, cannot easily obtain a certificate to work as a per diem substitute.

In other words, if retired teachers want to work as per diem subs, they need to have five "S" ratings in a row during their last five years of service.

An exception would be if the teacher can find a principal to "nominate" him/her and then guarantee that the teacher will receive at least ten days of employment as a per diem sub at that school.    
Where did this policy come from?

Here is Peter Ianniello's email to a UFT retiree who is grieving the policy and who will also be appealing a U-rating on an APPR, that was based on a single "unsatisfactory" observation report, issued toward the end of his 30+ year career:

From: Ianniello Peter <PIannie@schools.nyc.gov>To: PerdiemInquiries <PerdiemInquiries@schools.nyc.gov>Cc: RFreiser <RFreiser@uft.org>; JVasquez <JVasquez@uft.org>
Sent: Fri, Nov 30, 2012 8:56 am
Subject: RE: I am in receipt of your attached 11/9/12 form letter in which you declined to process my application for a permanent retiree's Per Diem Certificate for Substitute Teacher assignments.

Dear                

 Thank you for your letter regarding your per diem license.  The current policy, in place for three years, requires a retiree to have served satisfactorily for the last five years of his/her career, which means all “S” ratings.  You were not issued a per diem certificate because you do not fit that criteria.  So, there is both a rationale and a justification for the denial.  The decision is not arbitrary, as you indicate, but rather a clear cut rational decision based on the recorded facts.

The other issues regarding the principal, the reasons behind the U rating, and whether it was issued without merit are irrelevant.  There is an appeal process for the rating in place, and if you were successful in the appeal, we would certainly issue the certificate.

The only way for you to serve as a per diem substitute is to have a nomination from a principal who is willing to use you as a day to day substitute.  S/he will have to guarantee that you will serve at least ten days in that particular school.  You will have to go through the on line nomination process, complete an application and submit to those requirements.  The requirements vary depending on the type of state certification you hold.

Sincerely,

Peter Ianniello, PhD

Executive Director of Human Resources and Talent