City legislative priorities
Read the UFT's 2025 legislative policy recommendations for New York City below or download a PDF of these priorities.
Protecting Our Schools
Protecting New York City’s schools is more important than ever as the federal government attacks public education.
What we’re asking
- Fully fund New York City’s schools.
- Safeguard against harmful executive orders that target our students, particularly our newly arrived and LGBTQ+ students.
Respect for Paraprofessionals
Respecting, recruiting and retaining paraprofessionals in New York City is paramount. Paraprofessionals are the backbone of our public schools. Yet the City cannot hire or retain them due to the unfair practice of pattern bargaining, which shortchanges paraprofessionals.
What we’re asking
- Pass City Council Int. 1261-2025 to give paraprofessionals an additional $10,000 or more per year.
- A has gained over 103,000 signatures in support of this legislation.
With reserves at a record high, the City has the funding to make this legislation a reality for its dedicated paraprofessionals.
Class Size
Last year’s state budget explicitly stated that New York City is financially responsible for funding class size reduction. The City must uphold this responsibility as schools work to reach full compliance by 2028.
What we’re asking
- Appropriately fund the hundreds of schools that applied for class size funding for the 2025-26 school year.
- Update the capital plan so that it creates the new seats we need.
Fund UFT Programs
UFT Teacher Center
The UFT Teacher Center promotes teacher excellence and student achievement through professional learning that addresses the diverse needs of the whole child.
- 208 Teacher Center coaches embedded in 177 schools across NYC in 2024-25- an 80% increase in the number of sites across the city since 2020-21.
- 28 new Teacher Center sites opened last year - 317,597 participants – educators, principals, and parents – attended Teacher Center seminars in 2023-24.
- 128,861 hours of transformative professional development in 2023-24.
- 99% of participating educators report that the professional learning sessions improved their practice.
What we’re asking
- $6.5 million from the City Council Speakers Initiative and $4.12 million from the City Council’s Discretionary Funds to open a site in every district and:
- Support students with the highest needs and engage all learners.
- Increase our support for Early Childhood education providers.
- Support schools in retaining and mentoring new teachers.
- Support curricula rollout across the city.
- Keep schools at the forefront of technology.
United Community Schools
United Community Schools (UCS) is a teacher-inspired nonprofit improving outcomes for over 19,000 families at the 32 community schools it operates across NYC.
- Higher test scores
- Better attendance
- More credits earned
- Increased sense of safety
- 6:1 return on investment
- 25,000+ health and wellness visits coordinated
What we’re asking
- $5 million to implement and sustain 32 community schools that provide critical support to children and families.
Social Emotional Learning Support
Two proven programs, Member Assistance Program (MAP) and the Positive Learning Collaborative (PLC), are addressing the growing mental health and wellness crisis in NYC through vital support and programming for staff, students and families.
- The MAP careline has received over 20,000 calls since 2022.
- Over 1,000 members this school year have attended the weekly support groups.
What we’re asking
- $1,900,000 for the 2025-26 school year, to continue to sustain and expand all these citywide supports.
Progressive Redesign Opportunity Schools for Excellence (PROSE)
PROSE amplifies the voices of educators at over 230 schools by enabling them to propose school-level innovations that bolster student excellence. These innovations may include how teachers are hired and evaluated and how students are programmed throughout the day.
What we’re asking
- $300,000 in City Council funds to support schools in continuing these efforts, to expand the program to more school communities around the city, and to facilitate the sharing of best practices between schools around these innovations.
BRAVE Hotline
±«¹ó°Õ’s BRAVE (Building Respect, Acceptance and Voice through Education) hotline allows students, families and educators dealing with bullying to contact our hotline for immediate help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For FY26, we want to expand our workshops offerings for students, staff, and families, and create a digital resource hub with guides in multiple languages on handling bullying, reporting incidents, and seeking mental health support.
What we’re asking
- $300,000 to help us increase access to this crucial program and to expand the range of services available to our students and families.
Dial-A-Teacher
Dial-A-Teacher began in January 1980 and currently operates Mondays through Thursdays from 4 to 7 p.m., offering homework help in nine languages, including Spanish, Mandarin and Bengali. Last year, the program received over 35,000 calls, but the funding amount from the City has not increased for at least the past 25 years.
What we’re asking
- $300,000 to increase the number of teachers available to answer calls, continue with technological upgrades and provide staff development that will enhance our ability to service students in the modern educational arena.
Teacher’s Choice
We thank you for your ongoing support of this program.
What we’re asking
- Continue the $20 million baseline funding for Teacher’s Choice.
Arts in Education
The arts introduce our students to new ways of thinking and expressing themselves.
What we’re asking
- Support Broadway Bridges in the FY 26 budget so that high school students can see a Broadway show before they graduate.
- Support arts education in schools.
Common Point
Common Point is a social services organization that supports the diverse needs of New Yorkers of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.
What we’re asking
- Support Common Point’s programs in the FY 26 budget.