“It was very hard to be told, after 20 years and two degrees and all the certifications and, like you said, a lot of expertise in my field, ‘Oh, it's dangerous for you to be—you can't be—around the children. You can't have contact with children.’ . . . I’m very, very attached to my school. I'm very committed to everyone there. It's like a little family.” - Chloe Pashman
In this episode of the New York Mandate podcast, I talk with Chloe Pashman, who is the education director of a CBO (community-based organization) preschool that is contracted with the City of New York Department of Education (DOE). When the vaccine mandates for DOE employees and city contractors were rolled out in the fall of 2021, Pashman applied for a medical exemption because of her history of problems with other vaccines and medications.
She was granted a permanent medical exemption and has continued to work, but she is not allowed to enter her workplace before 2:30 p.m., when DOE school hours end. She is currently waiting to find out whether her exemption will stay in place after its specified June 30, 2022 end date.
[UPDATE: Approved medical and religious exemptions for DOE employees and contractors, including Chloe Pashman’s, have been extended through September 5, 2022.]
Pashman talked with me about the medical exemption process, what preschool has been like for kids during the pandemic, and how she does her job now that she can’t be there in person during most of the day.
We also talked about the grassroots political power of parents, the anti-mandate movement in New York City, and how pandemic policies have changed her and other New Yorkers’ political views.
Here are some links related to things we talked about during the episode:
Interview with Bobbie Anne Cox: Fighting New York's Isolation and Quarantine Rule Chloe Pashman mentioned a New York State bill that proposed state-enforced quarantines. While that bill was eventually stricken, Governor Kathy Hochul’s administration revived it as a regulation with Section 2.13 of New York State’s Communicable Diseases rules. Attorney Bobbie Anne Cox is currently representing a group called Uniting NYS in their lawsuit against the regulation. She talks about the regulation and the lawsuit in this in-depth interview with Alison Morrow.
[UPDATE: Uniting NYS won in court, but the Hochul administration is now appealing the decision.]
Day Care Council of New York
This is an organization representing boards that operate more than 200 publicly funded childcare centers and family childcare programs in New York City.
Council of School Supervisors and Administrators
This union represents principals and other administrators who work in NYC public schools and city-subsidized Centers for Early Childhood Education (ECE).
New York City Department of Education
The DOE manages New York City’s public school system, which is the largest in the United States.
Mayor Adams Lifting Mask Mandate for Kids Under 5 As School Year Ends
Chloe Pashman is quoted in this New York Post article.
Danyela Souza Egorov
Democrat running to represent New York State Senate District 29.
Maud Maron
Democrat running to represent New York Congressional District 10.
John Matland
Republican running to represent New York Congressional District 11.
Head Start Mask Requirements
Head Start is a federal program that provides funding and oversight to some early education programs.
Order of the Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene to Require COVID-19 Vaccination for City Employees and Certain City Contractors
This is the order that former Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi issued on October 20, 2021 requiring New York City municipal employees and contractors to be vaccinated.
Order of the Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene to Require COVID-19 Vaccination in the Workplace
This is the order that former Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi issued on December 13, 2021 requiring all workers in New York City who work in a workplace or interact with other workers or the public to be vaccinated.
NYC Vaccination Requirement: Workplaces
This is where you can find current information on New York City’s workplace vaccination requirements.
About the New York Mandate Podcast
The New York Mandate Podcast is an ongoing series of conversations exploring the costs and consequences of vaccine mandates in New York City. I’ll be talking with workers who have been directly affected by the mandates, as well as legal and policy experts.
In late 2021, the city introduced a series of requirements for workers to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. These requirements were put in place through executive orders issued by the administration of former mayor Bill de Blasio.
Current mayor Eric Adams continues to support the mandates, and they now extend to most working people in the city of New York. Private sector employers are required to affirm that their employees have been vaccinated, and public sector employees of city agencies have been terminated or put on unpaid leave for failing to comply with the vaccine requirement.
The views expressed in the New York Mandate podcast are the personal opinions of the people speaking, and are not intended to provide medical or legal advice.
Join the Conversation
Have you lost your job, been put on leave, or lost opportunities to work as an independent contractor as a result of your decision not to comply with a New York vaccine mandate? Did you take a vaccine against your wishes in order to keep your job? Please get in touch with me at NYMpodcast@protonmail.com.
New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 7: Education Director Chloe Pashman