Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has denied a request from four New York City public school teachers to block Mayor Bill de Blasio’s mandate requiring all Department of Education (DOE) staff to take COVID-19 vaccines. The Bronx native said Friday that the nation’s highest court would not hear the challenge, which sought to halt the city’s order just before it fully took effect.
“Our vaccine requirement for NYC school staff has now been reviewed in state courts, federal courts, and the Supreme Court and upheld,” Dr. Dave Chokshi, the city health commissioner, tweeted in response to the news. “Vaccination will keep students and staff safer.”
The deadline for DOE staff to get at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine was originally September 27th — but was delayed due to a temporary hold that a federal judge issued after a coalition of unions sued the city over its vaccination requirements for municipal workers. A federal appeals court cleared the mandate to move forward Monday evening and Mayor de Blasio set 5 p.m. on Friday, October 1st as the new deadline for DOE staff to get vaccinated, meaning it would be in place by the time classes resumed next week.
As of Friday, at least 90% of all DOE employees were vaccinated with at least one shot, according to city data. Among teachers, the rate was 93%, meaning about 5,500 of 78,000 educators citywide remained out of compliance with the mandate. About 98% of principals were vaccinated, with only about 30 holdouts. About 500 DOE employees have received medical or religious exemptions.
Teachers protest against COVID-19 vaccination mandates in New York, August 25th, 2021. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied an emergency appeal from a group of teachers to block New York City's mandate for public school teachers.
“There are support systems in place to ensure schools have the staff they need to take care of their students,” the DOE said in a statement sent out Friday afternoon. That includes a pool of 9,000 vaccinated substitute teachers and 5,000 vaccinated substitute paraprofessionals, as well as new flexible funding for schools to hire additional employees as needed. “We are also offering a financial incentive to all substitute teachers and substitute paraprofessionals on top of their regular pay,” the DOE said.
The DOE added that it has been running on-site vaccination clinics for staff and eligible students during the first two weeks of school.
Employees who did not upload proof of vaccination by the deadline will be put on leave without pay. But if they upload proof of vaccination over the weekend, they will be able to return to work Monday without interruption, the DOE said.
Separately, a state mandate for health care workers has boosted vaccination rates for city-area nursing homes but led some hospitals to suspend services temporarily.
