Tuesday, February 16, 2021

STATE ED SAYS SCHOOLS CANNOT MANDATE COVID-19 TESTS FOR IN-PERSON SCHOOLING

Like just about everyone, this State Education Department memo left me rather astonished.


For those interested in the UFT reaction:


I gather the UFT means court action when they say fight. I think I can say with confidence they don't mean job action.


47 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why pay dues? Don't you get tired of writing about this lazy, lackluster, sorry, sad, poor excuse for a union? When will we see this change you refer to?

James Eterno said...

The UFT didn't do this. The State Education Department did it.

TeachNY said...

I’m not asking this to “troll” for comments as some believe, but what’s the point of having testing if it’s only 20% of the school, and only once a week? It never made sense to only test a small population less than once a week...

nerd said...

The anti-dues comments for every post get uninteresting really quickly

Anonymous said...

I had covid. After I was released from quarantine by the health dept, I wanted to visit my husband in the hospital. They said I needed a negative covid test. I re-tested and was still positive. I heard that after infection, someone could still test positive for 90 days, even if you are no longer considered infectious. I asked the nurse if the hospital was going to let doctors and nurses stay home for 90 days. She admitted probably not, but those were the rules at the time.

By this time in the pandemic, there should be a more nuanced discussion of the disease. I got covid the same time that Trump got it (no connection!), so I paid very close attention to that episode. I noticed that no one said that Trump tested negative before his next big rally. The closest thing anyone said was that it was very unlikely that Trump would infect anyone else.

Anyway, this might be the reason that kids don't need a negative test.

TeachNY said...

The 20% number makes no sense. I’ve always been an all or nothing person. Either test 100% or do not test at all.

Anonymous said...

Excuse me. Mulgrew promised a strike, then promise 3%, then somehow went to 9%, then went to state only 9%, then to infinity amount. Now, testing is illegal. And what uft response, other than a facebook post, will we see? The same as every other issue. None. I'm sure the uft excuses, and it's better than nothing, and be happy for what you have, and you are lucky to have a job, and go in, get sick and die...Also gets uninteresting. Perhaps you haven't read about the long haulers who never ever get rid of it.

Another teacher died in New Rochelle from covid after being died an accommodation.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like more accommodations and remote kids for fall.i wonder why nys would do this.it is not cuomo this time.the whole charade is sickening, esp for unmasked students getting to show up without masks and infect others.meanwhile. my cuz in Oregon said schools are all remote, period.have been all this time.wtf is wrong with nystate??so many were actually killed on vents.they put them on while they were able to walk and talk.nys is a huge fuck up all around. Disgusted already!I wonder if it will be challenged and how long it will take.will mulgrew and others really act or pretend to?why are trs, uft, doe still remote??

Anonymous said...

The uft has been failing for years, long before covid. Did the 2005 and 2014 contracts have to do with covid? how about grade fraud? No discipline code? Danielson? Ridiculous PD? Uft silence? Absentee CLs?

It is like when teachers say students are failing because of the pandemic. Students have been doing nothing for a ling time. Most schools are now lowlife central.

Double standards are so sad. So is telling undeserving students they've accomplished something when they haven't.

Anonymous said...

Mayor just said, at his presser, 1027 AM, there may be another student opt in. Well, that means more in person teachers needed.

Anonymous said...

Manhassat secondary school, a top upper class school district on Long Island, had 38 students test positive for Covid after having attended a superspreader event. Most students, however, were asymptomatic.

Anonymous said...

Most people are going to continue paying dues because they like where they are. I'm an ATR and in the school I'm in the teachers are generally happy. I've seen that with the last 3 schools I've been in. Why do you think Mulgrew keeps getting voted in? The only loud ones on this site blogging are the ones that are treated poorly, so not paying dues is not going to be effective unless a large population of teachers do it. Also, don't you lose your job protections if you opt out?

Anonymous said...

The anti-dues comments that are on every thread are making me want to check in on this blog less and less. We get it.

Anon2323 said...

Why why why lol, we been telling you why it's a PLANdemic, this was allll political. You think if Trump was in office they would allow this!!! HELL NO! WAKE UP!


Thought Cuomo would wake some of you up for heavan's sake.

Besides 80% of techers pulling funds from UFT or going to news networks to expose, how else are we to get attention from mayor and UFT? How else will Mulgrew understand he is not in charge and we want our voice heard?

James Eterno said...

Try running and winning union office. That might work.

Anonymous said...

Someone once said that with a hypothesis, when you analyze your results, your hypothesis then gets modified based upon those results.

Listen folks, last year there were alot of guessing with no data. Guess what? They have a years worth of data from all over the world. The collective data helps drive the decisions and modifications. So of course there are changes that continue to happen. The overall consensus is, the benefits outweigh the risks. Just like everything in life. So they will continue to make changes based on results collected. Don't like it? That's your prerogative. And you have alot of options here. Take an accomadation, take a leave, find a new job where you can shelter yourself from the world and have no outside contact, plus so many other options. Any decision that is made is for the Majority, not 100 percent.

The conspiracies are out of control and sometimes its just alot simpler.

Schools are going to continue to open and there will be people getting the virus... But the majority will be fine. September will be a full opening.

Anonymous said...

It wont be a full reopening, students arent showing up at the hs level. My school had 50% attendance before the pandemic. They may force teachers to report, but there will be very few students. I'll be resigning, so good luck to all of you. As far as opt out, I'm happy not paying, whether it makes a difference or not.

Anonymous said...

I agree with 12:24 decisions are made for the majority.
schools will be open in the fall k-12
there might be a remote only option though.
if you dont like your choices you can leave- as long as you are vested you get some $ post retirement.
make your choices based on how you feel- but just complaining on a blog site aint gonna change anything.

Anonymous said...

I love when all of these people say they are resigning or retiring early then at the 11th hour they change their minds when they see they won't be making the money they would if they stayed employed. I know a woman for the last 10 years has said each year was going to be her last year only to show up again in the fall. If this many people resigned, there would be more openings on the open market.

Anonymous said...

I dont get why parents are complaining.k-8 open, yet most parents OPTED to keep kids home.open an alternative for the ones itching to go back.parents have too much clout.we have no say so on when any other entity or agency opens.nor should they butt in our business.there are childcare options and learning bridges if that is their beef.they should stop going to bars and spreading this and shut up already.this whole charade is sickening.we do not know what is truth and what are lies.we have crooked, unscrupulous leaders promoted by the evil media.Big Pharma controls the media.this is getting like communist Russia here.anyone who has another view is censored.why are they afraid of other opinions if they have nothing to hide?this is a fleecing of middle and working classes with a huge wealth transfer by inciting obedience through fear.well you cant have it both ways.if it is so safe in schools, stop pushing us to separate, destroy business, and divide people.i heard pcr wasnt designed to detect disease and is being misused to distort the cases.also, magically, no flu, heart attack and cancer deaths cuz it is all labelled covid.cancer cure!wow!if school is safe. Open up everything. BUT I STILL MAINRAIN THAT UNMAS KIK ED KIDS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN.ESPECIALLY IF THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT TO TEST.And for all the covidiot parents, I hope they get sick.thanjs for allowing me to vent.

Anonymous said...

Actually, I hope all the covidiots get sick.sorry, but I am pissed now.

Anonymous said...

Actually, I hope all the covidiots get sick.sorry, but I am pissed now.if they reopen, why dont all offices reopen?DMV, yes, uft, doe, all offices.why are we picked on?if it is so safe, why are they all closed?

TJL said...

This shouldn't have caught anyone by surprise - for what it's worth, in the "Biden plan" released last Friday it explicitly said that testing should not be forced, going so far as to say forced testing is "unethical".

Of course the Fed DOE has very limited jurisdiction over schools but given the State and DC are controlled by the same party it shouldn't surprise anyone that they are taking the same position.

Anonymous said...

Thehighwire.com for straight info

Anonymous said...

But if a teacher refuses covid test, they go off payroll.

Anonymous said...

NYC is in the worst financial shape in over 40 years. This will surely mean massive layoffs, salary reductions coming our way. And let's not forget retirees. Don't think you are exempt. Oh and think you're getting the remainder of your retro money? Think again.
We can thank the leadership from Albany,the Emmy Award winner Cuomo, and the doofus we have as a mayor.
And it's also nice to know that the UFT, with its fear-based position, has contributed to the decline of this city.
While we have seen Supermarket workers, hospital workers and sanitation behave like heroes by going to work every day, history will look back and see New York City teachers as the Mega cowards of this pandemic.

Anonymous said...

@6:13

Key take-away #5:

5) Double standards are justified for the greater good of promoting corporate privatization.

James Eterno said...

Money is coming soon to states and cities from DC so the sky is not falling budget wise. People who stayed home to look out for everyone's health will be looked back upon as reasonable folks, not cowards.

Anonymous said...

Great, can I get spring break pay from 11 months ago?

Anon2323 said...

YOU ARE NOT GETTING SPRING BREAK PAY!!!! MUST BE MILLENIALS! HOW MANY TIMES SAME PEOPLE ASKING, WE HAVENT GOTTEN RETEO FROM A DECADE AGO!!! FORGET IT!!! NOT HAPPENING.

What is the point of this vaccine if you still have to wear a mask and social distance? Let's see what happens eventually when the flu comes back, 99.7% of survival rate. NYC is doomed even with this bailout money for our wasteful leaders, nobody wants to live here and thousands of businesses are ruined forever.

Anonymous said...

The ny dems put teachers in a pot of water and then turned on the stove and just like the poor frog you don’t realize you are being boiled alive. They’ve slowly been increasing the temperature as 1013 pointed out with his 3% to 9% example. If Trump were still in office and demanding schools open, ny dems would still be saying he’s wrong. You got what you voted for. No more Trump. No more cries from ny dems for schools to remain closed. No more cries for testing in schools. I agree with the democrats like DeBlasio, Carranza, Cuomo and Biden who agree with our former president. Time for schools to open.

Shelley said...

Cuomo regularly describes New York's budget gap as $15 billion, although other fiscal policy experts tack the deficit at about half that number.

New York will get about $12.7 billion in direct aid.

But Cuomo demands more money that HE can spend and control.

In the two-page letter responding to Cuomo's demands and to the demands of the NY State Legislature, Pelosi wrote: "Overall, New York state will receive over $50 billion in state and local funding, and more than $20 billion in additional funding to support families' health, financial security and well-being."

That's on top of what NY got in the previous aid packages.

Not quite a windfall, but NY State, not the hardest hit by Covid, will fair better than all but three other states.

And, NY State and NYC are still borrowing money at negative interest rates. NY State is still rated AA+ and NYC AA- and with inflation on the rise the cost will be lower still.

Elections matter. The fact that the Democrats only slightly favor educators on policy issues is beside the point right now because without that Blue Wave and the Green Tide of money heading to NY we would be facing layoffs.

As things stand we are losing businesses, residents, students, and tax dollars. Trump and the Republicans were worse than Ford, infamous for telling NYC to drop dead and file bankruptcy, Mitch McConnel and his ex-best buddy 45 were going to shoot us down on Broadway and get away with it.

Shelley said...

Speaking of the Green Tide and the massive aid package heading to Broadway, Wall Street is also keeping us in the Green.

We have a strangely funded pension in NYC, unlike pension across the country, ours is funded with tax dollars and it assumes a 7% return. It, along with the TDA funds is invested in the stock market. How else could they get 7%? Even Junk Bonds don't pay 7%

TRS has a $25 billion unfunded liability.

This year, NYC will deliver 38% of each teacher’s salary to TRS. That’s in addition to what members, some contributing between 3-6% of their own salaries. And don't forget, both parties pay into Social Security.

That $25 billion in unfunded liability suck up most of the 38%.

Tier 6 is the kick the can down the road solution. Or kick your union brother or sister is the guts if you are in Tier 4 and voted for the contract.

This robbing of Peter (Tier 6) to pay Paul (Tier 4 and Retirees) scheme is not sustainable. There will need to be a Tier 7 without a defined pension.

And, the Bull will need to keep running on Wall Street above 7%.

Right now, we in the money, but when the markets return to trend, we will have huge problem. And Mulgrew is just licking hi chops cause he knows he's going to cut the deal the ends defined pensions and keeps everybody working, maybe forever.


James Eterno said...

Shelley, I agree with your analysis that the green wave is coming but would question your long term stock projection. 7% expected return on stocks is rather conservative.

From Nerd Wallet:

"The average stock market return is about 10% per year for nearly the last century. The S&P 500 is often considered the benchmark measure for annual stock market returns."

Anonymous said...

As per the the arbitrator, we are getting the retro.

Shelley said...

James, that's true, with reinvested dividends it's 10%, so the long term trend is our friend, but note that I wrote **when the market returns to trend** and that means that the above trend gains of the current bull market are not sustainable, so we can expect underperformance, below 7% returns in the future. When that happens the NYC tax payer is on the hook for the balance and the unfunded $25 billion will continue to go unfunded and it will increase as whomever runs NYC will be reluctant to raise taxes given the the fact that NYC is losing businesses and tax payers.

A progressive Governor would be good for teachers on this count, one that, unlike the autocratic, fascist Cuomo, will raise taxes on the wealthy, who, while they certainly pay most of the taxes now, need to pay more.

Maybe AOC, who won't get a shot at the senate or a major job in a Biden or Harris administration can be encouraged to run. Looking at how Trump faired in NY state; maybe she has a shot.

Anonymous said...

2/17 7:35
I'm tired of this false comparison. Those other jobs cannot be done safely from home. I resent the implication of cowardice because I want to keep my family safe.

Anon 11:54
When a fire begins, you don't say what's the point of fighting it, the neighborhood will just be rebuilt anyway. It's about attempts to keep things under control knowing there will be some damage and accepting there will possibly be lives lost but we do what we can. And the flu never left but the numbers are down because of those Covid protective measures.

My own side note-- I think it's foolish to open up anything yet whose purpose is entertainment, but de Blasio has never done anything with which I agree.

Anonymous said...

They can afford to pay us Spring Break pay if they laid off the newbies that are not needed. There is a huge surplus of teachers anyway. If there is an ATR pool, there is clearly an excess of teachers but again logic and the doe don't go together.

Anon2323 said...

I agree with you James which is nice for a change, the S&p 500 brings 10%. Just like China gave 10% to the "big guy" from Hunters deals with China.

Let's not forget Cuomo lost 1 billion on solar panels and diblsaio (warren wilhelm jr)wife closer to 1 billion on mental health initiative. That's 2 billion of at least 5 billion they completely wasted and lost for the city, how are they not executed?

Anyone find this ironic about the word panDEMic take "DEM" out and it's PANIC....
DEM PANIC 😂.

Anonymous said...

I've been checking the internet literally everyday for any updated news regarding the Early Retirement Incentive. I'm well aware that there are numerous bills that have been introduced and co-sponsored by various assembly members and state senators. However, sites such as Legiscan say the same thing for all of them. They have been referred to committee. Now I'm reading that that NYS and likely the city will be receiving a huge influx of cash from the Feds which will certainly make some dent in the budget hole. Please don't get me wrong, I wish for the fiscal health of city and state. However, if there was any time for an ERI to be offered, it would be now. I'm starting to wonder if it will ever come to pass, since Cuomo may be feeling more bullish on the future fiscal health of the state.

I'm 58 years old, I have 23 years of service. I bought into the 55/25 back in 2008 to save two years and being able to retire at 60. At this point, I don't know if I can last two more years if no ERI is introduced by the end of this year. I am seriously considering retiring no matter what after this year. I have underlying conditions that make working in my school very precarious. I will go back when it opens, and hope to have my vaccinations done. I'm just feeling burnt out, and I'm hoping against hope that the ERI will be there come June. The union said they are pushing Albany to pass this, but what the union says and what they do.......lol

I read this wonderful blog religiously just about every day. Although James and I are on polar opposites of the political thought process, I am grateful his blog is the best source of information available online these days.

I really feel so bad for my younger colleagues, especially those who are in Tier 6. The way the DOE is, I would say 90% of them will never come close to seeing a pension. I consider myself so fortunate to be in a position to be able to walk out anytime at this point. I'm just praying for the ERI, so that it will put me in an optimal financial situation earlier.

Anonymous said...

Now that it is almost a year since we worked without receiving pay for spring break, and Cuomo is badly wounded politically, and Mulgrew is just 3 months away from an opt out reckoning it is a perfect climate for us to "sit down" and strike for our spring break pay.

We need to ask for 'green" because of the climate change.

Anonymous said...

Enough with the political bullshit. Yeah Dems suck and guess what Anon 2323 Reps suck too! So what’s your point? Bottom line we as a union all the way up to the AFT have to stop taking bullshit from all parties and make a stand.

Anonymous said...

1157,

You shouldn’t root for anyone to be laid off from the doe. Do you not understand that once they start or principals are perceived to have that power, then it’s field day on everyone?

So we don’t get paid for spring break? So what? I posted a few assignments last spring that the kids didn’t do any way.

Make the doe work for you and not the other way around.

Anonymous said...

2:09 Everything about our job is political. Curriculum, discipline code, contract negotiations... How do you take a stand against a political party most teachers vote for? My answer is by not voting for them. Politics is heavily involved in our day to day work life. It's not out of place in the commentary.

1:37 I wish you well.

Anonymous said...

So we are accepting being forced to work for free on our vacation, spring break and holy days? You guys are a joke just like Mulgrew.

Anonymous said...

1:37 I agree- if there ever was a time for an ERI it's now. I believe it will happen and will be a cookie cutter of incentives from years ago. At minimum those of us 55+ will be able to "buy" up to 2 years of service credit. When it happens it will be sprung on us with a demand that we opt-in within a very short window (30 days). I'm 56 with 23 years and like you paying into 55/25. If it happens I'm out.

If not, hey 2 years to go. We can make it. Drawing the big salary for 2 more years isn't the worst thing. Next year could be lower stress than a typical year, especially in high schools where attendance should be lower. Self care; use CAR days; with luck get called for jury duty.

Anonymous said...

I wouldn’t get my hopes up at any eri that lets you collect before 55. My hopes not up for an eri at all.