In Support of Teachers Suing NYC Over Vaccine Mandate
Press Release
11-8-21
On Wednesday November 10th at 1pm there will be an interfaith prayer vigil at Foley Square across the street from the Thurgood Marshall courthouse, downtown Manhattan, in support of teachers suing NYC over the city’s refusal to grant religious exemptions to its vaccine mandate for educators and other staff.
The prayer will begin at 1pm and the hearing will commence at or shortly after 2pm. After the hearing a press conference will be held where you will hear from multiple plaintiffs’ discussing why they are suing NYC over their denied religious exemptions, as well as from plaintiffs’ attorneys.
“The religious exemption process carried out by NYC was fundamentally improper,” said Michael Kane, a lead plaintiff in the case KANE v. DE BLASIO and founder of TEACHERS FOR CHOICE. “We hope the 3-judge-panel in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals will see how clearly discriminatory this process was, but we are prepared to take this all the way to SCOTUS if we must.”
On Wednesday the Second Circuit will hear arguments in KANE v. DE BLASIO and KEIL v. NYC, also being argued at the same time.
“Our lawsuit is going to prove that the New York City Department of Education, the City of New York, and Dr. David Chokshi (NYC Health Commissioner) have denied NYC educators our constitutional right to practice our religion freely,” said John De Luca, a plaintiff in KEIL v. NYC. “A very concerning precedent is being set here in NYC and we must stop it now. If we don’t stand up now and fight for our basic constitutional rights, it will affect all of us, our children, and generations into the future.
Teachers For Choice 