According to the New York Post, the New York City Department of Education has fired another 850 teachers and aides for failing to comply with the city’s vaccine mandate, bringing the total to nearly 2,000.
The Education Department ordered 1,300 employees to show proof of vaccination by September.
Five or be “deemed to have resigned voluntarily.” When 850 refused to cooperate, the department fired them.
With the latest round of layoffs, the total number of teachers or aides fired. Since then-mayor Bill de Blasio (D.) implemented the vaccine mandate last year to 1,950, according to the Post. While Mayor Eric Adams (D.) has relaxed some of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s COVID restrictions, he has maintained the school employee vaccine mandate.
Come on down to the free state of Florida!
We are proud to offer reciprocity to New York teachers. https://t.co/7Tr00zKZU8
— Manny Diaz Jr. (@SenMannyDiazJr) September 19, 2022
The firings come as COVID cases and hospitalizations in New York City are decreasing, and courts are overturning similar city mandates for police officers.
Rachelle Garcia, a Brooklyn elementary school teacher, was fired after the Department of Education denied her religious exemption.
“I couldn’t say goodbye to my students properly,” Garcia told the Post. “Other teachers told me they kept wondering when Ms. Garcia would return. That made me sob so hard.”
For failing to get the COVID shot, New York City has fired over 2,600 municipal workers.