Sabbaticals

Sabbatical Memo for Fall 2007 and Spring 2008, click here

Sabbatical Memorandum for the 2008-2009 school year, click here

If you are in a licensed school-based position, you may be eligible for the following leaves:

Study Sabbatical:

The DOE provides paid leave at partial salary for professional development. Teachers on regular appointment will be eligible for study after each 14 years of service.  Teachers with 7 years of appointed time are eligible for a six-month sabbatical. Sabbaticals are granted for study for one year at 70% of the pedagogue’s salary. Middle and High School appointed pedagogues are eligible for a six (6) month spring sabbatical for study at 70% of their salary. To learn more and apply, review the eligibility requirements outlined in Personnel Memo #5 and file an OP8.

Health Sabbatical:

Certain health conditions warrant consideration for a paid sabbatical at partial salary.  To learn more and apply, review the Personnel Memo #5, and file an OP8 and OP 407. Click here to access the OP 407 Page 1, OP 407 Page 2 and Instructions for OP 407.

Emergency Sabbatical:

Emergency sabbaticals for restoration of health are available for one term or less if all the sabbatical requirements (see above) are met and all sick CAR days have been exhausted. Pedagogues are also eligible for a six (6) month sabbatical for restoration of health if they have seven (7) years of appointed service only. The Division of Human Resources (DHR) Medical Division must approve a restoration of health sabbatical. Health sabbaticals for six months or less are paid at 60% of the employee’s salary. A grace period cannot be taken before a sabbatical.  UFT members DO NOT accrue CAR days during a sabbatical. 

All schools have a 5% cap on how many appointed staff members can go on sabbatical. The most senior staff member requesting a sabbatical will be eligible for the sabbatical over the least senior one.For Example: Five teachers from the same school have requested a sabbatical for the subsequent school year. The cap for that particular school is three teachers. Of the five that requested the sabbatical, the three most senior teachers will be granted the leave.

SPECIAL STUDY SABBATICALS TO ACHIEVE STATE CERTIFICATION

Teachers on regular appointment may apply for a special one year or six month sabbatical leave of absence in the following instances:
For study to meet certification requirements for an additional certification designated as a shortage area license (see list of current shortage areas below); and/or
For study to become certified in the regularly appointed teacher's current assignment area.

Eligibility:

Based upon the criteria listed above, the applicant for sabbatical must meet all other preparation requirements for State certification other than the remaining 16 credits or less required to achieve certification.

Shortage Area Licenses:

Special sabbatical leave for study may be granted to complete additional certification in one of the following shortage area licenses:

Bilingual Guidance Counselor (Elementary and Secondary) Bilingual School Psychologist (Spanish)
Bilingual School Social Worker (Spanish)
Bilingual Teacher of Common Branches
Bilingual Teacher of Early Childhood Classes
Bilingual Teacher of Social Studies
Bilingual Teacher of Special Education (Spanish and Haitian Creole)

Teacher of Biology and General Science (Monolingual and Bilingual)

Teacher of Chemistry and General Science (Monolingual and Bilingual)
Teacher of Classes for Children with Limited Vision - (Monolingual and Bilingual (Bilingual - only Spanish) Teacher of Classes for the Blind (Monolingual and Bilingual)

Teacher of Classes for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing-(Monolingual & Bilingual (Bilingual – only Spanish) Teacher of Earth Science (Monolingual and Bilingual)
Teacher of English as a Second Language (Elementary and Secondary)

Teacher of Homebound (Monolingual and Bilingual)
Teacher of Library in Secondary Schools
Teacher of Mathematics (Monolingual and Bilingual)
Teacher of Nursing
Teacher of Physics (Monolingual and Bilingual)
Teacher of Reading
Teacher of Spanish
Teacher of Speech Improvement (Bilingual and Monolingual)

Application Requirements for Special Study Sabbaticals to Achieve Certification:

Applicants will be required to provide a letter from the college or university that they are attending, or a deficiency statement from the New York State Education Department (SED) confirming that they have met all other requirements except the remaining 16 or fewer academic credits needed to achieve an additional certification. The applicant must also submit the completed Application for Special Study Sabbatical to Achieve Certification (Attachment #4). Individuals awarded special study sabbaticals will be required to submit to their Local Instructional Superintendent documented proof of enrollment in an appropriate academic program at an accredited college or university. Documentation confirming that the employee has registered for 16 credits or less must be submitted prior to the commencement date of the sabbatical.

Other Provisions for Special Study Sabbaticals:

Pursuant to the agreement, the following shall apply:

An individual who receives this special sabbatical leave of absence for study will commit to completing certification and will accept assignment to teach in the license area for a minimum of two (2) years.

Special study sabbatical leaves are not subject to the five percent cap, but will count as used sabbaticals in determining eligibility for any future sabbatical.

The substitute service creditable toward sabbatical leave eligibility (pursuant to paragraph 1, section B, "Sabbatical Leaves" of the article of the applicable agreement governing leaves) may be applied to a twelve month special sabbatical leave of absence for study. In addition, such substitute service, if otherwise creditable toward sabbatical leave eligibility, shall not be lost or diminished as a result of taking a six month special sabbatical leave of absence for study.