Will a U-rating be sustained where the failure to follow the UFT contract for observation practices was never raised at the U-rating appeal?

Yes. Petitioner, a middle school tenured teacher in the Bronx, received a U-rating after an interim principal was appointed in his school. While he was able to transfer to another school he sought to reverse the U-rating and appealed the matter. At the U-rating appeal neither petitioner nor his UFT representative raised the issue that he was observed only once during the rating period.

On appeal to the Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan annulled the U-rating and ordered that it be replace with an “S” rating. The City appealed and the Appellate Division, First Department reversed.

The Appellate Division wrote, “Petitioner failed to preserve the issue of whether the U-rating should have been annulled based on an alleged procedural deficiency or deviation from the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by his union regarding observation practices, since he never raised the issue at the administrative level.”

IN RE JEROME RAZOR, Petitioner-Respondent, v. CITY OF NEW YORK, ET AL., Respondents-Appellants. 3013, 101079/13.2017 NY Slip Op 00932 Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department. Decided February 7, 2017.

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