NYC school paraprofessionals are owed up to $10,000 this school year

If you work as a paraprofessional in a New York City public school, this law says the Department of Education owes you up to $10,000 for this school year, on top of your regular pay. Paraprofessionals are the classroom aides who often work one-on-one with students with disabilities. Many earn less than $40,000 a year, and starting pay is around $33,000.

You don’t have to apply. Eligible full-time paraprofessionals get four $2,500 installments: January 1, March 1, June 1, and August 1, 2027. Substitute paraprofessionals get prorated amounts based on the number of days they worked in each period. The payments don’t count toward your pension. If a union contract raises paraprofessionals’ pay by at least as much, the law ends.

Council Member Carmen De La Rosa sponsored the 2026 bill after former Council Member Keith Powers introduced an earlier version that stalled in 2025. The United Federation of Teachers campaigned for the checks for nearly two years, and Speaker Julie Menin got the new bill to the floor. It was meant to address more than 1,000 open paraprofessional jobs and keep the people already doing the work. The Council passed it 49–0 on July 16, 2026, and estimated the cost at $324.9 million.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani let it become law without signing it on August 18. The next day, his administration sued to block it. The administration argues that under state law, pay can only be set in union contract talks. The case is still pending, and the union says the first payment is still due in January.