Must Read: Current Rules For ATRs Posted on ICE/UFT Blog

It is most certainly amazing to see the UFT befuddled about what to do with the complete mess they and the DOE have made in protecting the rights of Absent Teacher Reserves, or ATRs. At least they got rid of the one-day termination hearing.

Hey, something is a little better than nothing! A smidgen better? I agree, the ATR situation needs a total overhaul.

Betsy Combier
 betsy.combier@gmail.com
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, New York Court Corruption
Editor, National Public Voice
Editor, The NYC Public Voice

CURRENT RULES FOR ATRS

It has been confirmed from the UFT that "There is no new agreement" on Absent Teacher Reserves concerning extending the disastrous 2014 ATR contractual provisions (Rule 11A). Therefore, Rule 11A has expired and Article 17B Rule 11B takes over. We first reported on this on Saturday.

Rule 11B is the 2011 ATR agreement. It includes weekly rotation but does not include one day rapid fire termination hearings for ATRs or automatic resignations if an ATR misses two interviews or second class status for an ATR who survived a termination hearing. It is a step up.

Here is Rule 11B in its entirety from the contract:

B. Excessed Employees/ATRs

General Provisions

Except as expressly provided herein, this Rule 11(B) shall not in any way constitute a modification of, limitation on or a waiver of any other provision of this Agreement or past practice.

For purposes of this Rule 11(B) the term “Excessed Employee” shall refer to all UFT-represented employees that have been excessed, including Excessed Employees that have been sent to a school to be considered for placement and not selected (an “ATR”).  For employees that do not have licenses, the term “license” as used herein shall mean the appropriate title. 

Consideration for Placement of Excessed Employees

An Excessed Employee/ATR, upon notification of being excessed, shall be required to register on the Open Market System for purposes of providing updated contact information.  Failure to so register shall eliminate the DOE’s obligation as to that Excessed Employee/ATR under this Rule 11(B).

Employees excessed after the execution of this Agreement shall be sent to schools for consideration for placement as follows:

(1)  When one or more vacancies occur, the DOE shall send the most senior Excessed Employee in the district/superintendency with the appropriate license to the school(s) for consideration for placement, except that the DOE shall not be required to send Excessed Employees who have already been sent to a school for consideration for placement pursuant to this paragraph.

(2)  An Excessed Employee sent to a school for consideration for placement shall meet with a Principal or Assistant Principal. For non-school based employees, the term “Principal or Assistant Principal” shall refer to the equivalent supervisory title.

(3)  If the Principal denies the placement, and the vacancy remains, the DOE shall send a second Excessed Employee in the district/superintendency with the appropriate license to be considered for placement.  Such Excessed Employee shall be the most senior in the district/superintendency who has not previously been sent for consideration for placement.  No school shall be required to consider for placement more than two (2) excessed employees in a term.  For purposes of this Agreement, a “term” shall be from September to January 31 or February 1 through of the end of the school year.

(4)  If the DOE notifies an Excessed Employee of the school he or she is being sent to for consideration for placement before the school year begins, he/she may choose to meet with the supervisor before the school year begins if a mutually agreeable time can be arranged.  The DOE shall inform Excessed Employees that are notified subsequent to the start of the school year as soon thereafter as reasonably possible of the school to which he/she is being sent for consideration for placement. 

(5)  Notwithstanding the above, an Excessed Employee who has not been sent for consideration for placement shall be sent for consideration for placement prior to an Excessed Employee with the same license who has been excessed in a subsequent term, even if the subsequently excessed employee has more seniority. 

(6)  No release by an Excessed Employee’s current Principal/Supervisor shall be required if a Principal/Supervisor accepts the Excessed Employee for placement.

(7)  The Principal or Assistant Principal shall meet with the Excessed Employee/ATR for consideration for placement during the regular work day.  No supervisor shall prevent the Excessed Employee/ATR from attending such meetings.  If Excessed Employees/ATRs fail to appear at a school for consideration for placement when properly notified, the DOE shall have fulfilled its obligation to the Excessed Employee/ATR under this section, except if the Excessed Employee/ATR has a reasonable excuse. If reasonably possible, the Excessed Employee/ATR shall notify the Principal of his/her inability to attend.

All employees currently in excess status shall be sent, in seniority order, to schools in their district/superintendency for consideration for placement in vacancies in their license area prior to any employee excessed after the date of this Agreement.  Employees who are sent to a school for consideration for placement pursuant to this Rule 11(B)(3) shall count for purposes of the provision in Rule 11(B)(2)(b)(3) limiting the number of Excessed Employees that a school must consider for placement to two (2) per term.  

                   

Leaves and Long Term Absences

The Principal shall select an appropriately licensed Excessed Employee/ATR in the district/superintendency, if any such employee exists, to fill all leaves and long-term absences.   The Principal retains the right to remove an Excessed Employee/ATR from the filling of such leaves or long-term absences at any time and replace him or her with another appropriately licensed Excessed Employee/ATR.  In the event that only one (1) Excessed Employee/ATR in a license area in a district/superintendency is available, the Joint Oversight Committee created in Rule 11(B)(7) shall address the issue.

    

As used in this Rule 11(B)(3), the definition of “long term absences” shall be absences of longer than twenty-nine (29) work days.

Vacancies

After September 15th an appropriately licensed Excessed Employee/ATR in the district/superintendency shall be temporarily utilized in a vacancy until the Principal makes a final determination whether to keep the employee in the position.  An Excessed Employee/ATR that is filling a leave or long term absence may decline to be moved to or utilized in a vacancy.  If the school has not yet considered two Excessed Employees/ATRs pursuant to Rule 11(B)(2)(b)(3), it shall do so as soon as possible so long as the vacancy exists.  

If a Principal decides not to continue to utilize an Excessed Employee/ATR in the assignment, another Excessed Employee/ATR shall be utilized pursuant to the terms of this Section 4, if such an employee exists, beginning no later than the first work day of the following work week, except where three Excessed Employees/ATRs have been utilized or declined to be utilized in that vacancy.  From the day the Principal decides not to continue to utilize a particular Excessed Employee/ATR until the first workday of the following week, the Principal may utilize a substitute.  

At the end of the school year in which the temporary utilization occurs, if both the Principal and the Excessed Employee/ATR agree in writing, the employee shall be appointed to fill the vacancy in the school and take his/her rightful place in seniority order.  If the employee or Principal do not wish the assignment to continue, the employee shall remain an ATR in their district/superintendency in a different school.

An employee that is temporarily utilized in a school shall maintain all of his/her contractual rights.

The prohibition against moving an Excessed Employee/ATR during a week pursuant to Rule 11(B)(5)(b) below shall not apply to an Excessed Employee/ATR who agrees to be moved to a vacancy pursuant to this Rule 11(B)(4).  

      

Assignment of Excessed Employees

To the maximum extent possible, as provided herein, an Excessed Employee/ATR shall be used to cover for a UFT-represented employee in his/her title who is absent, prior to the employment of a substitute or paying another employee in the school to cover a class or classes (or other appropriate assignments).   If the Principal determines for a legitimate educational reason that it is unacceptable to allow the excessed employee/ATR to continue to cover a particular position, the principal may employ a substitute for the remainder of the work week.  The Principal shall not be permitted to hire a substitute beginning with the first work day of the following work week for the same absence, unless no Excessed Employee/ATR is available.

      

An Excessed Employee/ATR shall be assigned to a school within his/her district/superintendency for no less than a week, but may be assigned to a different school within his/her district/superintendency each week.  A “week” shall be Monday through Friday, or shorter if the work week is less than five (5) days.

An Excessed Employee/ATR shall be notified no later than Friday (or the last work-day of the week) if he/she will be assigned to a different school the following week and, if so, to which school.  An ATR who has not been notified that he/she has been assigned to a different school by Friday shall report on Monday, or the first work day of the work week, and for the duration of that week, to the last school to which he/she was assigned. 

Other Applicable Provisions

For purposes of this Rule 11(B), the terms “rotated” or “rotation” shall refer to the assignment of certain Excessed Employees/ATRs to a different school within his/her district/superintendency on a revolving basis.

The parties agree that for purposes of Rule 11(B)(3), starting with the commencement of the rotation, the DOE will assign ATRs/Excessed Employees to schools on a temporary basis to fill positions caused by leaves or long term absences as defined above that are not covered internally by a school through contractually permissible methods and where a substitute teacher would otherwise be utilized to cover for the absence or leave.  The ATRs/Excessed Employees covering leaves and long term absences will not be rotated until the completion of the assignment unless the principal requests the removal of the ATR/Excessed Employee prior to its completion.

The parties agree that for purposes of Rule 11(B)(4), the date the DOE shall begin temporarily utilizing appropriately licensed ATR/Excessed Employee will be the date of the start of the rotation of ATRs/Excessed Employees as determined by the DOE in a given school year.

It is expressly understood that the obligation in this Rule 11(B) to send Excessed Employees/ATRs for consideration for placement or to cover vacancies, leaves or long term absences in their license area shall not apply to those Excessed Employees/ATRs who are not in the weekly rotation (e.g., those temporarily utilized to cover a vacancy, leave or long term absence/assignment) to cover other vacancies, leaves or long term absences/assignments.

The parties agree that ATRs/Excessed Employees in the Brooklyn and Staten Island High School District (BASIS) who are rotated, shall be rotated within seniority district but not outside the borough in which the school they were originally excessed from is located.

It is expressly understood that the obligation in this Rule 11(B) to send Excessed Employees/ATRs for consideration for placement or to cover vacancies, leaves or long term absences in their license area shall only apply to BASIS ATRs within the borough in which the school they were originally excessed from is located.

Joint Committee There shall be a Joint Oversight Committee comprised in equal parts of representatives appointed by the President of the UFT and the Chancellor of the City School District, respectively. The Joint Oversight Committee shall meet regularly, but no less than twice each term, as defined herein. The Joint Oversight Committee shall monitor the implementation of this agreement to maximize cost savings and ensure proper implementation.  The DOE shall promptly provide the Joint Oversight Committee with all appropriate data and information, so long as it is requested in a reasonable amount of time.

The parties agree that starting in October of the school year, the Joint Oversight Committee (the “Oversight Committee”) will meet monthly, and at each meeting the DOE will provide reports on the number of ATRs/Excessed Employees by license and district, the number of ATRs/Excessed Employees in long term assignments and the number of leaves commenced at the start of each month.  The parties also agree to discuss any and all particular issues concerning the implementation of this or  Rule 11(B) at these Oversight Committee meetings.

It is the intent of the parties to resolve issues relating to compliance with this agreement through the operation of the Oversight Committee.  The UFT agrees that issues will be raised at the Oversight Committee prior to the commencement of any union initiated grievance or arbitration.  The DOE agrees that should the committee agree about an issue of non compliance, the Division of Human Resources and Talent will reach out to DOE Staff and/or the school to ensure compliance.  If a particular issue at a particular school warrants further intervention, the Deputy Chancellor for the Division of Talent, Labor and Innovation will intervene with appropriate DOE staff to ensure compliance with this agreement.  At any time after an issue has been brought to the Oversight Committee, upon five (5) days written notice to the DOE, the UFT may proceed with a union initiated grievance.  The DOE will issue a memorandum to schools outlining all the changes above and share a draft of the memo with the UFT for consultation purposes before issuing.  This memo will be issued prior to the start of 2012-2013 school year.

Provisional Agreement

The parties agree that after the end of the open market hiring period, if both the school’s principal and the Excessed Employee/ATR agree in writing, the Excessed Employee/ATR will be staffed to a school on a provisional basis for the school year or remainder of the school year.  An agreement to be staffed provisionally for either all or the remainder of the school year shall be in writing and signed by both the schools’ principal and the Excessed Employee/ATR.

An Excessed Employee/ATR that has been provisionally staffed for the year or remainder of the year by a school shall be treated in all respects as an employee on the school’s table of organization for that year or remainder of the school year.

An employee that has been provisionally staffed by a school shall become an Excessed Employee/ATR again at the end of that school year unless both the employee and school principal agree in writing that he/she be hired and placed on the schools’ table of organization in their rightful spot in seniority order.

d.   Nothing in this Agreement is intended to alter or change the right of a principal to temporarily utilize an Excessed Employee/ATR in a vacancy and, if both the Principal and the Excessed Employee/ATR agree in writing at the end of the school year, to staff the employee to fill the vacancy in the school pursuant to this Rule 11(B).

Posted by James Eterno at 7/07/2016 12:40:00 AM