A Union Without a Backbone: How the UFT Fails Special Education Students and Educators

The latest press release from our leadership on the catastrophic state of special education in New York City lays bare the profound weakness of our Union’s leadership. We’re told, once again, what we already know: thousands of students are being denied their legally mandated services due to unprecedented staffing shortages. The Department of Education’s reliance on private contractors is wasting millions, while paraprofessionals, special education teachers, and other essential professionals are undervalued and overburdened. And yet, what does the leadership propose? Half-measures and hollow reforms that will accomplish next to nothing.

This response isn’t just inadequate—it’s insulting. A survey showing more than 2,200 vacancies, 1,558 of which are for paraprofessionals, doesn’t need more analysis; it demands urgent action. Yet instead of mobilizing members to force the DOE’s hand, UFT leadership proposes vague, non-binding "recommendations." Reform hiring systems? Use negotiated time for therapy sessions? Adjust funding formulas? These are bureaucratic fixes for a crisis that demands bold, militant leadership.

The negligence doesn’t stop here. This isn’t a new problem; it’s part of a long and shameful history. For years, our union has abandoned paraprofessionals, special education teachers, school psychologists, and counselors to fend for themselves in an increasingly hostile and unsupportive system. They stood by while critical positions like education evaluators were eliminated, leaving special education students without the assessments they need to access services. They turned a blind eye to overcrowded special education classrooms and co-teaching settings, even when these blatantly violated legal mandates. Grievances weren’t filed, fights weren’t waged, and our most vulnerable students were left behind.

This lack of advocacy for paraprofessionals is particularly egregious. These workers form the backbone of special education and District 75 schools, yet they remain some of the most underpaid and undervalued members of our union. Instead of demanding fair pay, career pathways, and respect, the leadership offers meaningless promises about “reforming hiring practices.” Meanwhile, the psychologists and counselors who serve these students face unsustainable caseloads, with no real push from the union to hire more staff or reduce their burden.

The problem extends to the DOE’s reliance on private contractors, which drains resources without solving the crisis. Nearly $900 million was spent on these contractors last year, yet thousands of students still go without their mandated services. Our leadership calls this out in their press release, but where is the plan to stop it? Where is the campaign to force emergency hiring and ensure proper staffing ratios? Where is the fight to hold the DOE accountable?

This isn’t just about mismanagement; it’s about a failure of imagination and resolve. A truly militant and creative union would be organizing citywide actions to draw attention to this injustice. It would be working with parents, advocacy groups, and elected officials to demand a complete overhaul of the DOE’s special education system. It would refuse to accept overcrowded classrooms, unserved students, and overburdened staff as inevitable.

Instead, we are left with this: a leadership that issues press releases instead of taking action, that offers recommendations instead of demands, and that perpetually reacts to crises instead of preventing them. This isn’t leadership—it’s surrender.

The time has come to say enough. Enough to the empty rhetoric and lack of action. Enough to the neglect of paraprofessionals, special education teachers, and related service providers. Enough to the complacency that leaves our most vulnerable students without the care and support they deserve.

This crisis is bigger than one press release. It’s about the future of our union and whether we are willing to fight for what’s right. If our leadership won’t rise to this challenge, then it’s up to us to demand the change we need. Together, we can build a union that values boldness over bureaucracy, action over words, and justice over appeasement. Let’s not settle for anything less.