Thursday, July 16, 2026, 10 a.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 2
Committee: Committee on Civil Service and Labor
0:06 The chat fine.
0:06 Good morning everyone good
0:12 morning good good welcome t
0:14 otoday's New York City Council
0:15 vote for the committee on
0:17 civil service and labor at
0:20 this time police silence all
0:22 electronic devices and no 1
0:23 approach dais dais at any time
0:24 chair we are ready to begin
0:29 . Good morning I'm
0:31 councilmember Shirley al
0:32 deborde chair of the committee
0:33 on civil service and labor
0:35 welcome to this morning's
0:36 committee vote on proposed
0:38 introduction 692 a sponsored
0:42 by my colleague Council Member
0:43 Carmen De La Rosa which seeks
0:46 to provide work for a
0:47 workforce stabilization
0:48 payment.
0:48 To New York City school
0:51 power professionals we have
0:52 been extraordinarily concerned
0:53 about the persistent powerful
0:56 professional staffing crisis
0:57 that has been impacting New
0:58 York city's public schools
1:01 particularly in district 7
1:04 5schools power professionals
1:05 are critical members of the
1:07 school environment providing
1:09 instructional behavioral and
1:10 physical support
1:11 . To students with
1:13 disabilities they help
1:14 students live up to the
1:15 educational and executive
1:17 functioning goals described in
1:17 their eye pipes by offering
1:20 individualized support during
1:23 academic instruction creating
1:24 safe spaces to manage behavior
1:25 and helping to regulate socio
1:28 emotional crises paras also
1:30 provide the necessary physical
1:31 assistance to students with
1:35 transportation toileting
1:35 feeding and other needs and
1:39 yet despite fulfilling a
1:41 crucial hands on role for the
1:43 city's students para
1:44 professionals are woefully
1:45 underpaid and have limited
1:47 benefits
1:48 . Starting pay for full time
1:49 paraprofessionals sit around
1:53 $32000 and the maximum saralee
1:54 salary for those over 15 years
1:56 of experience remains at
1:59 roughly $54000 these wages are
2:02 particularly staggering when
2:05 contrasted contrasted with a
2:07 March 2026 report from the
2:08 Mayor that estimates that the
2:09 true cost of living in New
2:11 York City for a single adult
2:13 sitting at roughly $78000 or
2:18 166000 for a family of two
2:20 adults and two children
2:23 furthermore compounding the
2:23 issue of low pay
2:26 paraprofessionals have very
2:27 little little flexibility in
2:30 their schedules moreover full
2:32 time power professionals are
2:32 entitled to a maximum of only
2:35 10 days of paid leave during
2:36 the school year to adjust to
2:38 address health or personal
2:40 issues
2:41 . A substitute
2:42 paraprofessionals do not
2:43 receive benefits at all but
2:45 due to the level of vacant
2:47 positions and attrition the
2:49 remaining paraprofessionals
2:50 must work doubly doubly hard
2:52 to fulfill the work of
2:53 multiple people and are left
2:54 with little or no flexibility
2:56 for coverage of students when
2:59 someone takes an unforeseen
3:00 absence given these untenable
3:04 conditions retention and
3:06 recruitment for power
3:06 professionals is currently
3:08 insufficient to meet the needs
3:10 of all the students with
3:12 disabilities who require
3:13 additional support the work
3:15 force stabilization payment
3:16 lprofessionals with some
3:21 reprieve for their essential
3:23 work and incentivize retention
3:25 and recruitment for the 20 26
3:28 20 27 school year before we
3:29 call a vote I would like t
3:30 othank the committee staff for
3:32 their work and preparing for
3:33 this vote and to my staff for
3:35 their work and serving
3:38 district 13 I'd also like t
3:38 orecognize that we have been
3:40 joined by council members
3:43 Hankerson Narcisse Hudson
3:46 Cabán De La Rosa and murano
3:48 and I believe is too narrow on d
3:53 you he'd get on okay
4:01 . Now I'll turn to her council
4:03 member De Rosa for her remarks
4:06 on the legislation
4:08 . Good afternoon thank you
4:08 chair for your leadership and
4:09 to the committee for holding
4:12 today's vote on until 620 a
4:14 better known as the respect
4:17 check we introduced this bill
4:18 because behind every
4:19 successful classroom in our
4:20 City there is often a power of
4:23 professional that learning
4:24 possible
4:25 . These are the workers who
4:26 sit one on one with students
4:28 with disabilities help
4:30 children communicate regulate
4:31 and learn and make sure every
4:32 student can fully participate
4:34 in our schools and in their
4:37 educational experience.
4:37 The reality is that the
4:39 people doing the essential
4:41 work are among the lowest paid
4:42 employees in our school system r
4:45 professionals can earn as low
4:46 as $32000 a year and many
4:49 experienced paraprofessionals
4:50 professionals still make under
4:51 50000 annually in one of the
4:52 most expensive cities in the
4:54 country with large gaps in our
4:56 paraprofessional workforce the
4:58 consequences continue to grow
4:59 in our schools New York City
5:01 has faced thousands of
5:03 paraprofessional vacancies in
5:04 recent years leaving leaving
5:06 classrooms without the support
5:07 students are legally entitled
5:10 to and putting additional
5:10 strain on teachers and school
5:12 staff these gaps also
5:14 translate into lawsuits.
5:15 In that and a revolving door
5:17 of outside contracting that
5:19 cost the City and the state
5:21 over $1.5 billion in taxpayer
5:23 money just in the last year a
5:28 $10000 one time stabilization
5:28 payment is a drop in the
5:30 bucket in comparison to what
5:32 we gain when the money goes
5:34 back into our communities into
5:35 our schools and into our
5:37 workforce although longer term
5:40 term compensation should
5:41 ultimately be addressed to
5:43 collective bargaining the
5:44 respect check recognizes the
5:46 emergency before us
5:47 stabilizing a workforce of
5:48 over 25000 para professionals
5:51 and reducing attrition rates
5:52 that have left gaps of between
5:56 1603000 vacancies in our
5:57 workforce for far too long at
5:59 its core this legislation is
6:01 about dignity and recognition
6:03 and respect if we believe
6:04 every child deserves support
6:06 in the classroom then we must
6:07 also believe that workers
6:08 providing that support deserve
6:09 wages that allow them to live
6:12 with stability respect in the
6:13 City that they serve I want t
6:15 othank the 47 council members
6:17 who have already supported
6:19 this legislation including
6:20 other officials such as the
6:21 public advocate the manhattan
6:22 borough president the brooklyn
6:23 and queens borough president
6:25 . They understand the critical
6:27 role that prior professionals
6:28 play in helping our students
6:29 with the greatest needs and I
6:30 look forward to passing this
6:32 legislation for the
6:34 paraprofessionals advocates
6:34 students and families who rely
6:36 on the largest school system
6:37 in the country to set them up
6:40 for a future of success I also
6:42 want to shout out our good
6:44 friend and former council
6:45 member now assembly member
6:47 keith Powers who was the
6:49 original sponsor of the
6:50 original bell last session
6:51 thank you chair thank you
6:55 thank you now turn it over t
6:57 othe clerk to call the roll
6:59 thank you excuse me good
7:00 morning william martin
7:02 committee clerk roll call the
7:03 committee on civil service and
7:06 labor proposed introduction 6
7:10 9 2 a chair alibaba very
7:11 proudly vote aye Gennaro hi
7:17 thank you capon I
7:21 . Thank you Hudson high thank
7:28 you Narcisse I vote aye but I
7:29 want to add that we are the
7:30 capital of the world we are
7:33 leaders but yet when he come
7:35 to paraprofessional where we
7:36 supposed to show up we're not
7:37 showing up for the
7:40 paraprofessional on that note
7:41 evora let's do the right thing n
7:46 . Can I explain my vote I just
7:48 want to say that okay Madam
7:51 chair yes
7:51 . Ok very very brief I just
7:53 want to say that our Powers
7:55 are not just necessary but
7:56 they're vital to the work that
7:58 happens within our schools I
8:00 remember as I think the only
8:02 one on this panel right now
8:04 who was only about 10 years
8:07 outside of high school how
8:10 paris I mean I mean ok.
8:15 Yes.
8:15 The pirates didn't just care
8:17 for the students they were
8:17 assigned to they cared for all
8:18 of us and so to too cookie god
8:23 bless her soul ah they deserve
8:24 it and so I bodi thank you
8:27 murano Madam chair I say a
8:32 word no.
8:32 No I was just going to say
8:34 yes you're right you look a
8:36 shock at tells you that most
8:38 people believe councilmember
8:39 Hankerson is much much older
8:41 than he actually is I just
8:45 want to congratulate
8:46 councilmember De La Rosa and
8:48 thank her for her leadership
8:49 on this as well as former
8:52 Council Member Powers never
8:55 before has a bill been this
8:58 widely popular among council
8:59 members on a bipartisan basis
9:02 and yet become so
9:04 controversial and so difficult
9:05 to pass and it's just a shame
9:08 that perez like one that I met
9:10 in my district retiring
9:12 yesterday are not going to get
9:13 this I wish we had done this
9:16 previously and I hope we can
9:18 work to expand the payments
9:20 for paris and eventually get a
9:21 look back period for
9:23 paraprofessionals because I
9:24 echo what everybody said they
9:26 did incredibly they do
9:28 incredible incredible work
9:28 especially in my.
9:29 District with that I
9:31 enthusiastically vote yes
9:32 . Thank you with a vote of
9:34 seven in the affirmative zer
9:35 oin the negative and no
9:37 abstentions item has been
9:38 approved by the committee
9:39 full committee that is a
9:50 . Thank you with that this
9:51 boat