In this section of the employee InfoHub you'll find information on salary steps, salary differentials and salary schedules for appointed teachers and teacher line staff (i.e. guidance counselors, school secretaries, laboratory specialists, psychologists, and social workers). Salary increments for teachers and teacher-line staff in NYC public schools are governed by the DOE’s collective bargaining agreement with the United Federation of Teachers. Chancellor’s Regulations C-500 and C-545 outline the rules for salary credit.
When you begin your career in DOE as a teacher, school secretary, guidance counselor, school psychologist, school social worker, or laboratory specialist, you are assigned a salary step based on your previous paid, full-time teaching experience and/or your related non-teaching experience.
Once you apply for salary steps by submitting a salary step application, you will be granted an equate date. Twice each year, you will automatically advance to the next salary step: once on your equate date, and again on March 1.
Non-appointed teachers and non-appointed school-based staff advance to the next salary step after 85 days worked, up to a maximum of step 4A.
All full-time New York City public school teachers (except day-to-day substitute teachers and paraprofessionals), school secretaries, laboratory specialists, guidance counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers can apply for an increase in salary step.
If you are an appointed teacher (sometimes referred to as regularly appointed), you can receive credit for a maximum of seven and a half years of qualifying professional experience (up to salary step 8B).
If you are an appointed school secretary, lab specialist, guidance counselor, school psychologist, or school social worker, you can receive credit for a maximum of five years of qualifying professional experience (up to salary step 6A).
Qualifying experience for appointed employees may include both prior teaching experience and, for certain license areas, prior non-teaching experience. One term of qualifying teaching experience equals one salary step. Each year of qualifying, related non-teaching experience equals two salary steps.
To find more answers and information about Salary Steps and Differentials you can visit the HR Connect Web Portal. To access the portal, log in using your DOE Outlook credentials and select the category Salary Step, Differential & Longevity.
You will automatically advance to the next salary step twice each year, on March 1 and on your equate date.
If you are a non-appointed employee (sometimes referred to as a regular substitute), you may be eligible to receive credit for a maximum of three years of prior non-DOE professional experience (up to salary step 4A), based on prior teaching experience performed outside of the NYC Department of Education (up to a maximum of three years of credit). You are not assigned an equate date but automatically advance to the next salary step after 85 days worked, up to a maximum of step 4A.
Appointed teachers with prior experience in the NYC Department of Education are eligible to receive salary step credit for satisfactory service in Pre-K–12 day schools or adult education. Service in summer or evening schools is not accepted.
Prior per diem service is creditable only if you worked at least 85 aggregate days (per diem service is only credited in blocks of 85 days). For every block of 85 days worked, one term of credit will be awarded. Non-appointed teachers cannot receive credit for per diem service.
You can receive salary step credit for outside teaching experience if the experience meets all of the following criteria:
If you are teaching in one of the following license areas, you may qualify for related non-teaching experience salary credit:
Teachers in the license areas listed above can receive salary step credit for related non-teaching experience if the experience meets all of the following criteria:
Qualifying non-teaching experience can include work performed in military service, provided that the experience meets the requirements above.
Teachers of some career and technical education subjects (known as "trade teachers") may be eligible for salary step credit based upon experience as practitioners of their trades. One example of this professional experience is completion of the Success Via Apprenticeship (SVA) program - an internship program offered jointly by the United Federation of Teachers and the NYCDOE. If you are a teacher of a career or technical education subject and need additional guidance as to whether or not your prior work experience qualifies you for a salary step increase, please call the Office of Salary Services directly: (718) 935-4000.
Service as a paraprofessional or as a teacher's aide does not qualify for salary credit.
Please contact the Office of Salary Services for information about other titles (for example, guidance counselor, school social worker, school psychologist, or school secretary).
When you receive your welcome email and access the New Teacher Checklist, you will be asked to go to the Salary Application System and create a salary step application (note: you can no longer apply for salary steps or differentials using the Payroll Portal). You must submit your salary step application within six (6) months of your appointment date (example: if your appointment date is September 3, 2019, you have until March 31, 2020, to apply without losing retroactivity).
Please use the Salary Application System to submit your online Salary Step and Salary Differential applications as soon as you receive your first paycheck. You are required to apply within six months from your start date.
Applicants should not mail transcripts, verifications, or other documentation to the Office of Salary Services. All documentation must be uploaded to the application.
Once you are assigned a salary step and equate date, you will not need to apply for salary steps again in the future, except in certain situations such as a status or title change.
The DOE’s Division of Human Resources, or its representative, will contact your previous employers directly to verify your work experience. You may contact former employers to alert them that the division will be requesting verification of your experience. If your work experience cannot be verified, your salary step increase will not be granted, or will be revoked.
It takes approximately twenty weeks to evaluate the experience you reported in your salary step application. You will receive periodic status updates at the email address you provide in your application, and when the process is complete you will receive an email with your Certificate of Salary Status attached:
Be sure to keep your certificate for reference purposes.
The salary corresponding to the salary step you have been assigned will appear in your paycheck within one to two pay periods. If you receive your certificate and don’t receive an increase in pay within four pay periods of the date on which you submitted your application, ask your payroll secretary to contact Pedagogic Payroll for you. Once your certificate has been issued, you must contact the Pedagogic Payroll Office at (718) 935-3542 to resolve any payroll issues.
If you do not validate the form, the Office of Salary Services will validate it on your behalf. If no previous work experience has been entered, you will automatically be placed on Salary Step 1A and granted an equate date that coincides with your first day of employment. You can still edit and submit your application with the correct information—if you do so within six months of your start date, the Office of Salary Services will review it to determine if you qualify for additional salary credit. If you do qualify, your new salary step will be retroactive to the date of your appointment. The corresponding salary step increase will be reflected in your paycheck after twenty weeks or more, and any retroactive monies you are owed will appear in a paycheck approximately 3 pay cycles later. If you do not validate your salary step application until after the six-month deadline, you will be issued a late filing date. Your first payment on the new salary step will begin on the first day of the month after your application was submitted. Late applications are not eligible for retroactivity to the date of appointment.
To find more answers and information about Salary Steps and Differentials you can visit the HR Connect Web Portal. To access the portal, log in using your DOE Outlook credentials and select the category Salary Step, Differential & Longevity.
For more assistance, call HR Connect: (718) 935-4000.
Certain employment situations can affect your salary step status, and may require you to re-submit a salary step application. See below for the most common situations.
If you are a former DOE employee and wish to withdraw your resignation or a former DOE employee who wishes to return to service after retiring, and you successfully locate a new position, and are authorized to return to service, you are entitled to return to the salary step you were on prior to your departure.
After your secure a position and submit and receive approval of your Application for Withdrawal of Resignation/Retirement which authorizes your return, in order to be assigned to the appropriate salary step and equate date, you must complete a salary step application (and salary differential application, if you gained additional educational credentials during your absence from the DOE) on the Salary Application Portal. All returning pedagogical employees must complete the required salary form(s) to ensure that they are placed on the correct salary step and an equate date is established.
If you fail to meet your licensing requirements within the prescribed time, your license is revoked, and your salary step will be reverted to and frozen at 4A. Likewise, if your salary step is below 4A at the time you lost your license, your salary step will also be frozen. Salary steps will remain frozen until your license has been re-established.
After the license is restored, the Office of Salary Services will revert your salary step to the level it would have been, had your license not been revoked. When your salary step is restored, you will not be eligible for retroactive payment of the amount you lost.
If you took another position within the DOE that did not use the original license for which you were hired and then returned to your original licensed position at a later date, field staff will notify the Office of Salary Services of your reversion.
If your original license did not expire while you were in your non-teacher/line position, you will be assigned the salary step and equate date you were on before you left your teaching/line position once the Office of Salary Services is notified of your reversion.
If your original license expired while you were in your non-teacher/line position, the Office of Salary Services will reassign your salary step and equate date to what it was before you left your teaching/line position upon notification that your license has been restored.
In both cases, you will receive a new salary certificate via email after your salary step and equate date have been reassigned.
Unless you have been notified that a salary step application is pending for you, you must go to the Salary Application Portal and create an application for a salary step.
You may be eligible for a salary step increase if you have prior employment experience that would qualify you for a salary step higher than 4A. Assignment of an equate date will ensure that you move to subsequent salary steps correctly.
You must submit your application within six months of appointment to receive retroactive pay (additional pay that would have been earned had you been placed on your correct salary step and assigned an equate date on your date of appointment). If you apply after six months, you will be issued a late filing date, and your first payment on the new salary step will begin on the first day of the month after the application was submitted. Late applicants are not eligible to receive retroactive monies.
After you reach the maximum salary step (8B for teachers, guidance counselors, school secretaries and laboratory specialists or 7B for school psychologists and social workers), you will receive longevity increases for 5, 10, 13, 15, 18, 20, and 22 years of service in NYC public schools. You do not need to apply for longevity increases; the Office of Pedagogical Payroll will automatically calculate your years of service and modify your salary.
If you take a leave of absence, with or without pay, your equate date is removed from the system. Upon completion of your leave and your return to service, it is the responsibility of the applicant to file this application in order to re-establish your equate date. The Office of Salary Services will not re-assign an equate date for you. In order to advance correctly to the next salary step, you must submit a new salary step application.
If you worked for the DOE on a per diem basis for 85 days or more during your leave, this service will be taken into account and applied toward a potential increase in your salary step. Regardless of whether or not an increase is granted, you will receive a new salary certificate via email. You cannot receive salary step credit for non-DOE experience earned during a leave of absence without pay.
If you receive your salary step certificate and don’t receive an increase in pay within four pay periods of your application being received, ask your payroll secretary to contact Pedagogic Payroll for you. Once your certificate has been issued, you must work with the Pedagogic Payroll Office to resolve any payroll issues. You can reach the Pedagogic Payroll Office at (718) 935-3542.