NY Teacher Accused of “Covid Mandate Psychosis” has Public Hearings 3-23-23

PUBLIC HEARING on March 23, 10am at the William Floyd Union Free School District District Office 240 Mastic Beach Road, Mastic Beach, NY 11951

All are welcome and encouraged to attend

[The targeting of New York teacher Rev. Noelle Florio is very frightening. In order for her to return to work, her employer, The William Floyd Union Free School District, required her to undergo a psychiatric examination under NYS Ed Law Section 913.  In that process she was accused of having “psychosis” due to her “rigid and fixed beliefs” about the tyranny that exists with Covid mandates.  From the beginning of her battle with the District, Noelle affirmed she was protected under the Constitution and also the American Disabilities Act as she has a serious medical condition as well.

After being unilaterally denied for her sincerely held beliefs and refusing to accept the feigned accommodations the District believes they offered (an unpaid leave or a nose bracket among other insults) she held to her convictions, and in turn, has suffered at the hands of the school district’s belligerent stance on “authority”.  She is held hostage by the reality that she is still (for now) an employee of the district and therefore cannot collect unemployment nor work anywhere else.  

I was just recently introduced to Noelle. She seems feisty, conservative and sure of her convictions. But by no means does she seem “severely psychotic” especially for “preoccupation with covid mandates”!

It is a relief to know there are some good people in her corner, that includes Psychiatrist Dr. Peter Breggin and trial attorney Sean M. Dixon. However I am convinced for justice to truly be served here she will need many more of us in her corner, starting on March 23. A sweeping gesture of solidarity would be public attendance of the hearings. Show up BIG, and respectfully to support Noelle and her family.

Below is her own story in her own words. – mk]

Due North: In search of stars and lighthouses 

By Rev. Noelle Florio

3-20-23

I am in awe of the support in just a few short hours of Michael Kane’s post regarding my story.  It is evident God is at work.  My family and I are truly blessed.  Thank you to everyone. All of this has manifested as a result in my beliefs regarding medical mandates.  Below is my story…

I’ve always found it amazing how one tiny star can light the way in the blackness of night. How, in a spiraling sea of tyranny, one lighthouse can guide us to shore.   I imagine there are many who feel lost in this vast, deeply unforgiving climate of political unrest, seeping into the sacred spaces of our hearts and minds.  I’ve seemingly backed myself into the “shut up and do what you’re told” corner.  Well, I don’t, nor have I ever taken kindly to that. Despite all attempts at peaceful resolution, my employer has doubled down on silencing me for good. 

When the electricity gets clipped or you’re hiding under the coffee table because the process server is knocking on the door with a summons and complaint,  or Ramen noodles have lost their zeal for the fourth night in a row for your family of six,  it wears you down. When you sell everything of worth, or your friends and family cannot comprehend “the selfishness” of your “choice”, or they simply don’t want to associate with you for fear of being implicated, the shame and doubt toils with your head. There is a force, however, that stops them dead in their tracks. One that cannot be infiltrated by the threat of destitution, isolation, and despair: it is Faith.   

When filled by the power of faith, the capacity to love is without end. It is indestructible.  As our hearts beat, so faith endures.  It is always there, though in our desperation we often lose sight of it.  United in faith, we build fortresses of courage, strength, and resolve. 

We are The Many.

For nearly two years, like so many of you, I refuse to acknowledge the impostors of lawlessness and moral chaos masquerading as, “the new normal.” 

I’ve been a New York educator for over 20 years.  However, since June of 2021, I have been forced on unpaid leave for my beliefs and health issues.  I’ve been vilified, shunned, and betrayed.  My family has been torn to pieces; Each one of us has endured some draconian measure of isolation and abuse. I’ve been kicked out of countless stores,  medical practices, and even the dentist for my youngest son who had a terrible toothache.

Collectively, we’ve been ridiculed more times than I can count for daring to breathe on our own volition.  In my refusal to surrender to this evil, I continue to be shunned and tortured by the presumptive perceptions of self-righteousness and alleged insincerity of personal and religious convictions. These “authorities” and “bodies” have unjustly and unlawfully inferred, defamed and attempted to destroy my character, beliefs and livelihood. 

I share my story for one reason: To be a star and lighthouse to others, to illuminate a way that shows with indomitable will, we will triumph over evil!  There is light in this vacuous tunnel of depravity.  There is a reason to carry on.  There are thousands if not millions that surround you and share your feelings, thoughts, and convictions of hope for a better future, no matter how lonely you may feel.  We are living proof that the universe conspires and aligns itself to give you the life God has intended. No doubt, every day we may feel like we lose battle after battle, but steadfastly we endure.  We celebrate our triumphs however big or small, and always remember that it is our faith in God and humanity that will win this war: 

 ‘In any war, there are calms between storms. There will be days when we lose faith. Days when our allies turn against us.  But the day will never come that we forsake this planet and its people.’ -Optimus Prime

The Facts of My Case

On June 7th, 2021, I made a bold pronouncement to the superintendent in opposition to the mandates.  I had recently returned from “Covid leave” as my underlying health condition would prove to make it exceedingly difficult to teach for seven or more hours straight, winded, and without proper oxygen. I’d like to add that I am not dead, despite the sinister clutches of the “virus’s” .008% to destroy me. I found it time to address the clinically and morally indecent aspects of mask wearing. So I wrote a letter to the superintendent, and informed him that I would no longer be taking the directive of Governor Cuomo, an egotistical maniac responsible for the murder of over 15,000 elderly people. 

My Union President called later that evening and asked what my intentions were. It was communicated to me that, ‘off the record’ the district administrators wanted to ‘high five me and take me to lunch’, however, if I dared to make the superintendent ‘look bad’ there would be, in so many words, hell to pay. 

Boy was he right. 

A full out war was waged against me.  A raging example and microcosm of the totalitarianism we face on a global scale, my district has a penchant for doubling down on troublemakers. There are very few that have dared to take them on, and if so, may God be with them. Despite a request to sit and discuss possible options, I never officially heard back from either the union representative or superintendent himself, but rather those paid to do the District’s bidding. Oaths of office have a way of making things difficult for those that are sworn to uphold them. 

It is important to note that in January of 2021, I had repeatedly expressed to my physician the inability to breathe and the psychological damage of mask wearing.  Shockingly, there was admission to this clinical evidence, whereby on June 10th, 2021, I submitted medical support for a mask exemption from my physician. 

Except the district didn’t like it, so he changed his mind.  

After confirming on at least two separate occasions that masks exacerbate symptoms of a serious health condition, it seems my physician had a change of heart after speaking with my employer’s medical director. With “no clinical basis” that supported something he wrote, he thought it better to  prescribe medical marijuana as an alternative to alleviate my symptoms. 

So back to the drawing board I went and returned to my faith and conviction that this was immoral, indecent, and unconstitutional.  I spoke with fellow ministers, and my mentor Rev. Juan Delgado (yes, I was ordained in 2019) and have been a practicing Christian for nearly five decades. Collectively we crafted what exemplified the tenets of our faith. Without an ounce of consideration, the district presumably felt I threw in a ‘last ditch effort’ at submitting a religious exemption to circumvent compliance yet again, hence…DENIED.  I should’ve known better to submit any reaffirmation and request for exemption.  God doesn’t ask for papers.

The audacity of claiming sovereignty over my mind, body, and soul has resulted in complete and utter emotional, spiritual, and financial destruction. It is difficult to epitomize the trauma and devastation both me and my family have endured.  To uphold my career as an educator, I was forced to choose between what lies deep within my soul OR my financial responsibilities to provide for my family.  Do I suffocate myself, my soul, the breath of life and bear witness to the abuse of my students in spite of all medical and spiritual affirmations of truth, or do I yield to my conscience and faith?  

I didn’t have to choose, they did it for me. They demanded I submit to NYS Ed Law Section 913 examination to determine mental or physical fitness should I choose to return.  All educators are required by law to attend upon suspicion of compromised health or behavior or you are terminated.  Period.   I strongly encourage all educators to review this law.

Presumably, with the mandates lifted, on August 23rd, 2022, I attended the “lawful” examination to determine whether or not I was “mentally fit” to educate children.  The results of the exam resulted in being served with a 3020-a Probable Cause hearing (without notice) and nine counts (repeated) of insubordination, misconduct, neglect of duty, and incompetence. Dr. Randall Solomon made a clinical evaluation of “Psychosis: Severe” under the DSM-5. 

Teachers, please review NYS Ed Laws 3020-a,b and c.  Why?  Because teachers who are charged with a 3020-a are, BY LAW, supposed to be paid during their suspension unless they have committed a felony, and/or have been charged with sexual or physical abuse of a minor.

I still remain unpaid.  The district is perhaps above the law.. 

In this grueling, invasive, and dehumanizing “evaluation of my mental fitness” Dr. Randall Solomon probed into my beliefs and reasons for “noncompliance”. He probed into the sacred and intimate details between a husband and wife and also questioned why I did not disclose my sincerely held beliefs when I first addressed the superintendent. 

I absolutely disclosed my beliefs that are embedded in our first amendment rights, and the bedrock of our Great Constitution, referenced in my first letter of June 7th, 2021. There wasn’t a need to explain any further as these rights are from God alone. 

Further, I refused to submit to a urine test and a release to an online database that holds private medical records, the district charged me with two counts of insubordination and misconduct. 

Of course, the allegation/diagnosis of “psychotic level symptoms” is what Dr. Solomon opined. With the incredible Dr. Peter Breggin and his wife Ginger whose expertise  is unsurpassed , I have been vindicated.  Not by any determination on the District’s part; but by the submission of  Dr. Breggin’s Expert Analysis.  I must add that I would have NO LEGAL DEFENSE without the goodwill of trial lawyer, Sean M. Dixon, who selflessly took on this battle, knowing the desperation and destitution my family and I have endured for the last two years. 

To say that my family and I have endured the reverberating fallout of mandates is the understatement of the century.  Despite this, to my core, I simply cannot be complicit in one of the greatest mind control experiments in human history, nor can I contribute to my own enslavement or that of my children. This is a crime against humanity of immeasurable proportion.  We the people must be vindicated, respected, and upheld. Those of us who question the narrative have been subject to an emotional and spiritual disenfranchisement of the greatest magnitude. We want the right to breathe, to think, and to protect our bodies as a temple of divinity.  We are searching for stability and discernment of thought in between the opposition.  In the end, it should always be up to each individual to surmise which truths they wish to acknowledge in pursuit of health and freedom. 

I share my story with the intention of ending the normalization of evil.  There is no question we are being systematically dehumanized.  By lumping us into groups, stripping us of our dignity and justifying it as a sacrifice for the greater good, is corruption and mass manipulation at its highest level.  Alone, we cannot defeat these oligarchical giants, but together, we can unite our shared vision of ‘Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.’  Without red or blue, without left or right, but with the power of Infinite Truth, Love, and Light. God is with you in this time of darkness.  Find your star, your lighthouse; they are waiting for you.  

I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace.

-Thomas Paine