CHD Moves Congress to Act on Unvaxxed NYC Teacher Problem Codes

by Michael Kane

6-26-23

This is fantastic news! A clear step in the right direction.

Congress has written a formal letter asking NYC DOE to explain why they placed “Problem Codes” on educators for being unvaccinated. You can download the original letter at the end of this post in pdf format.

Special thanks to Rep. Nick Langworthy for spearheading this effort! And thank you to Langworthy’s legislative director Will Smith for putting in the leg work to make this happen. I’ve been in touch with Smith for over 3 months about this issue and know first hand he has put a ton of work into make this happen.

This is only happening because Mary Holland sent a letter to the entire New York Congressional Delegation 3 months ago (as then-acting President and General Counsel for Children’s Health Defense) asking for an investigation into NYC Problem Codes that were used as a “Scarlet Letter” for unvaccinated educators, preventing many from obtaining other employment.

I also want to thank Reps. Nick LaLota, Mike Lawler, Anthony D’Esposito, Elise Stefanik, Claudia Tenney, Andrew Garbarino, Marcus Molinaro and Brandon Williams. Special thanks to Rep. Lawler for tweeting out the Daily Caller article which broke the story:

NYC DOE’s decision to blacklist teachers who declined a COVID-19 vaccine with the same “Problem Code” used to report those accused of molesting, raping, or harming a child is outrageous. My NY colleagues & I sent a letter to the NYC DOE demanding answers. https://t.co/t8FuYeY1Nx

— Mike Lawler (@lawler4ny) June 24, 2023

Now we need to see what NYC’s response is going to be, and whether or not this is going to spark Congressional Hearings.