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#NYC lawsuit could open floodgates on teacher COVID-19 exemptions

#NYC lawsuit could open floodgates on teacher COVID-19 exemptions

September 15, 2020 | 2:10pm | Updated September 15, 2020 | 2:25pm

A lawsuit by teachers afraid to go back to school amid the COVID-19 pandemic could force the Department of Education to open the floodgates on teacher virus exemptions just days before the start of classroom learning next Monday.

A group of five city educators claim that they were wrongfully denied coronavirus exemptions and argue that the DOE should expand the pool of teachers eligible to work from home.

Judge Dakota Ramseur granted a temporary restraining order Monday that legally allowed them not to come to their buildings this week.

She will issue a final ruling on the case on Friday after hearing arguments from their attorney, Bryan Glass, and DOE lawyers.

“Absent the requested relief, Petitioners and those educators similarly situated will face the Hobson’s choice of choosing between their own and their families’ safety, health, and possibly their lives, versus their own livelihoods and economic survival,” the suit states.

If the teachers prevail, sources said, countless colleagues will join the class-action case to seek remote-only arrangements for the upcoming year.

“Throughout the entire pandemic we have prioritized health and safety for our students, teachers and staff, and the plan we developed together with the [United Federation of Teachers] and other labor partners does the same,” DOE spokeswoman Danielle Filson said when the case was filed last week. “We will oppose the lawsuit.”

The DOE previously said exemptions would be available to teachers over the age of 65 or those with serious underlying health conditions that would place them at heightened risk.

The agency has already granted roughly 16,000 teachers COVID-19 exemptions — about 21 percent of the overall educator workforce. The DOE was unable to immediately say how many applicants have been rejected for the accommodation.

School administrators are struggling to staff classes, which have multiplied with the splitting of students to enable social distancing.

The city principals union has argued that the system needs an influx of 10,000 teachers to satisfy need.

Meanwhile, teachers across the city continued to resist returning to school buildings, citing a lack of DOE preparation and health risks.

At the High School of Economics and Finance in Manhattan, staffers camped out in front of their building Tuesday to call attention to their concerns.

“We are not certain about the safety of this school for our staff and our students next week,” said one teacher. “We just want a full assurance that the building is safe, the ventilation system is safe and the risk is as low as possible both for the staff and the students that’s coming in next week.”

Kailyn Fox, 33, sat in a folding chair in front of the school and tapped away at her laptop.

“It’s not safe inside,” she said. “The testing at this point is suggested by the DOE, is not required. Safe enough is not safe. It should be safety first and then we go from there.”

Both the UFT and the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators have stressed two primary concerns with building instruction now just days away — timely coronavirus testing and tracing along with adequate staffing.

But Mayor Bill de Blasio has pressed ahead with the partial reopening, arguing that kids will benefit from a return to classroom learning environments.

As of Monday, 58 percent of city kids are slated to being a hybrid learning format that will have them alternate between building and home instruction.

“A friendly reminder, everyone,” de Blasio said at his daily press briefing Tuesday. “The Department of Education, City Hall, we are the people who provide the services to our parents and our kids.”

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