All Department of Education staff will have to get at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 27, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday morning.
In late July, Mayor de Blasio announced that all municipal workers would have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the start of the school year on Sept. 13 or undergo weekly testing. But now, school-based staff will no longer have the option to test out.
According to Mayor Bill de Blasio, who spoke about the mandate in a press conference on Staten Island on Monday, the City’s new mandate will impact about 1480,000 DOE employees including teachers, principals, kitchen workers, and custodians. The policy does not apply to DOE contracted employees like bus drivers and for educators and staff working in 3-ks and preschools not located in DOE buildings, according to a department spokesperson. Employees at 3k and preschools not located in DOE buildings are still subject to the mayor’s vax or test policy.
