NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — New York City’s vaccine mandate for teachers and staff begins Friday, but one group of teachers is taking their fight to the Supreme Court.
City officials say many Department of Education workers have decided to get vaccinated — 3,000 got their first dose this week. Overall, 89% of DOE staff are vaccinated, including 92% of teachers and 97% of principals.
By 5 p.m. Friday, school employees are required to get their first shot or face termination.
Some say it isn’t right educators are being treated differently than other city workers.
“We’re asking the Supreme Court to let us put these teachers in the same position as everybody else and give them a testing option, instead of forcing this vaccination on them,” attorney Louis Gelormino told CBS2.
Twenty-four hours before the deadline, four teachers and paraprofessionals filed an emergency petition asking the court to stop it. The rule applies not only to teachers but other staff, including custodians, cafeteria workers and safety agents.
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“I think the mayor needs to understand that we all feel very much betrayed,” said teacher Rachel Maniscalco.
The city is standing firm, and Mayor Bill de Blasio continues to say the courts will prevail. Those who disobey the order will be replaced with substitutes, or what the mayor called “alternate staff.”
“To just put them in there with somebody they don’t know who doesn’t necessarily have experience, that is a whole other safety risk,” teacher Stephanie Edmonds said.
The DOE said in a statement, “The Health Department has the authority to implement a mandate that is firmly grounded in science and the expertise of public health officials from across the nation.”
Asked why this is something that she is willing to lose her job over, Maniscalo replied, “I think that the idea is medical freedom.”
A decision on the injunction could come as early as Friday, but lawyers say over the weekend is more likely.
from CBS New York https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2021/10/01/new-york-city-teachers-and-staff-face-5-p-m-vaccine-deadline-but-legal-battle-continues/
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