I’m A California Teacher About To Be Fired Because Of The Vaccine Mandate. Here’s How I’m Fighting Back

I am a high school honors English teacher in northern California, and I am on administrative leave, in the process of being fired due to the California vaccine mandate.  

Let me explain how I got here and why I’m willing to be fired over this.

Governor Newsom announced a vaccine mandate on October 1st for all public and private school-age children in California; without the shot, they will be denied in-person learning.  Once FDA approved (likely in January for ages 12 and up), educators must either take the shot or be fired, regardless of whether or not they’ve recovered from Covid already, regardless of whether or not they have natural immunity. 

Newsom’s one-size-fits-all mandate is discriminatory and ignores the authoritative science behind natural immunity. When I heard about the mandate, it greatly disturbed me.  

I was already disturbed by the discriminatory policies that were enacted throughout California seemingly designed to coerce children to take the vaccine. For example, in California, if a student tests positive for Covid, all students seated within six (6) feet are contact traced. If they have taken the vaccine and have no Covid symptoms, they get to stay in class, clubs, and sports. If they don’t have the vaccine — even if they have already recovered from Covid and even if they also have no Covid symptoms — they are forced to do distance learning for 10 days. This can happen multiple times throughout the school year. Some students have been contact traced on four separate occasions, despite already recovering from Covid.  Students are tired of seeing their grades suffer and missing out on sports and clubs, so many of them take the vaccine, not because they want it or necessarily need it, but because they view it as the only way to get back their freedom.  

I decided it was time to speak up.

Where I live, in Shasta County, California, about half of the county is unvaccinated. The mandate would force these children to go on distance learning, which was a disaster last year.  I realized this new mandate would create an educational crisis for families, not just in the north-state, but for families all across California.

The day after Newsom’s announcement, I drafted an email to my entire school district —  including the superintendent, and board — detailing my concerns about the impending educational crisis due to these mandates. I slept on it for a night, and I discussed it

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