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Rubber Rooms Will Be Gone By End Of The Year
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 16, 2010
Modified Apr 16, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 16, 2010
Modified Apr 16, 2010
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Yesterday, the city and the United Federation of Teachers announced that the practice of shifting teachers accused of misconduct to "rubber rooms" will end by the end of the year. Currently, there are 550 teachers in rubber rooms, where they are paid their full salaries during investigations, and the concept—which costs the city $30 million a year—has been ridiculed, criticized and questioned for years. The city called the news a "breakthrough" and Mayor Bloomberg said, "Starting this September, you'll be happy to know that rubber rooms will be a thing of the past. To say that this is a big deal is probably an understatement."
Under a new agreement, most teachers will be given administrative duties at Department of Education offices or "given non-classroom duties in their schools while their cases are resolved." Instead of taking years for cases to work their way through the bureaucracy, the DOE has 10 days after removing a teacher to file incompetence charges or 60 days to file misconduct charges. If the teachers aren't charged within the 10- or 60-day windows, they'll be returned to the classroom, but "Investigations can continue after a teacher is back in the classroom, however, and the teacher may still face charges." And for non-termination cases, DOE will also be able to suspended teachers at reduced or no pay using an "expedited, three-day disciplinary process." In the past two years, the city has only managed to fire three bad teachers.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew said, "If there's a disciplinary thing that has to be done -- let's get to it. If someone is going to be exonerated, let's get them back to the school. That's the way this process should work." And Schools Chancellor Klein writes in a Post op-ed, "We're hiring more investigators to meet these timelines and more hearing officers to decide cases. The agreement is fairer to teachers, especially those who have done nothing wrong. And this new, expedited process will be much better for students and schools. After all, a cumbersome arbitration system leaves them in limbo, waiting to find out if their teachers are returning or whether schools have to hire someone new."
The Post reports, Mayor "Bloomberg credited Howard Wolfson, his new communications director, as a key player in the negotiations between City Hall and the UFT. Wolfson's former political consulting firm, Glover Park Group, represents the UFT. 'He (Wolfson) told the mayor, "I think we can get this done,'" reported one source. 'The mayor told him, "Go ahead."'"
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DOE
rubber room
teacher misconduct
United Federation of Teachers
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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