The Rhode Island teachers' union will be asking the Barrington School Committee to halt its plan to fire teachers who choose to not get the Covid-19 vaccine.

The school committee will be meeting this evening, with a closed-door session expected to begin at 6 p.m., to hold a "pre-suspension and pre-termination" hearing with a teacher who has not complied with a district mandate to get vaccinated. The committee is then expected to meet in open session at 6:30 p.m. to hold a second  "pre-suspension and pre-termination" hearing for three  additional teachers.

Just before the start of the school year, the Barrington School Committee adopted a policy mandating that all employees get vaccinated by Nov. 1. A week ago, Superintendent of Schools Michael Messore said the staff was about 90 percent vaccinated. That could mean dozens of employees, including teachers, custodians, administrative assistants and others, were not vaccinated at the time.

State law allows teachers who are being terminated to request a hearing with the school committee, which is what led to the hearings tonight for the four teachers.  A few hours before tonight's meeting, the National Education Association Rhode Island, representing thousands of teachers throughout the state, released a statement (below) saying it will be asking the school committee to keep the teachers employed, with "risk mitigation" protocols, like regular testing, high-quality masking and other measures — all of which are already in place in Barrington for unvaccinated staff.

Tonight's meeting will be held in the "Presentation Room," room 1402, on the first floor of Barrington Middle School.

NEARI statement on seeking a vaccine-mandate accommodation for unvaccinated Barrington teachers and vaccine mandates generally

The National Education Association Rhode Island (NEARI) tonight will ask the Barrington School Committee for alternatives to termination for members found non-compliant with the district’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Some Barrington teachers have chosen not to get vaccinated because they believe it will present them with an undue hardship. NEARI is asking that the school committee reject Superintendent Michael Messore’s recommendation to place these members on unpaid leave and subsequently terminate their employment. Instead, we request the negotiation of an accommodation to allow these members to continue their employment with risk mitigation strategies including frequent testing, high-quality masking, social distancing, ventilation, and sanitization.

Since March 13, 2020, and throughout this pandemic, NEA Rhode Island has stated that health and safety must come first, guided by science and medicine. We strongly advocated for a safe return to school only with adherence to the recommended risk mitigation strategies at the time: distancing, masking, ventilation, and sanitization.

With the production of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, NEARI strongly advocated for and continues to encourage members to get vaccinated as another tool in risk mitigation. We are proud that an overwhelming number of our members have gotten vaccinated in order to keep our communities safe.

In jurisdictions where vaccine mandates have been imposed, we have advised local units to bargain the impact of those mandates, and for consideration to be given to accommodations for members who believe that getting vaccinated would present them with an undue hardship.

We have explained to our members that direct refusal to comply with a vaccination mandate could subject them to discipline up to and including termination. Nevertheless, there are members who have chosen not to get vaccinated as they believe it will present an undue hardship. While those cases are few and far between, we believe that in those instances an accommodation including frequent testing, high-quality masking, social distancing, ventilation, and sanitization should be negotiated.

NEARI strongly and publicly supported President Biden’s recommendation that states undertake a vaccination mandate for all educators and education support professionals and we pledged our assistance to Governor McKee should he choose to follow that recommendation. At present, there is no statewide vaccination mandate for educators and education support professionals, and unless and until that happens, we will continue to address the issue district by district.