what are we looking at time frame wise? I hate to see these teachers lose their jobs, or WORSE, take the vaccine because they don’t want to lose their job.
It will probably be a while.
It depends. If a teacher is still on probationary status, they have limited due process rights regarding termination from their job.
But in New York, tenured teachers are a whole different matter. Once teachers receive tenure (including tenure by estoppel!), they now have a property interest that cannot be diminished, diluted, etc. As such, they have a statutory right to due process rights which are mainly exercised by means of a State Education Law 3020-a hearing. A hearing officer is selected and both sides (teacher and district) make their case. In most cases, the hearings are brought as a result of misconduct, but there are also reasons such as pedagogical incompetence, failure to maintain/obtain certification, etc.
These teachers will draw full pay and benefits while not teaching. The school could require them to do work at the school (if they were not to be in the classroom), but I'm not sure they can even do that re: vaccinations.
A few years ago the 3020-a process could take up to 1 1/4 years. There were changes to the law in 2015 that did result in some quicker turnarounds, but with COVID-19, I'm sure the process is taking longer. Teachers could be looking at 6-12 months for the hearing process to complete.
And because that teacher is home, collecting pay and benefits, the district still has a vacancy to fill, which they would have to do with a long-term substitute, etc.