NYC Vaccine Mandate For Teachers Upheld By Federal Judges

AP: Federal Judges: NYC Can Impose Vaccine Mandate On Teachers
The nation’s largest school district can immediately impose a vaccine mandate on its teachers and other workers, after all, a federal appeals panel decided Monday, leading lawyers for teachers to say they’ll ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. The city’s Department of Education said the mandate would now go into effect at the end of Friday, so that all teachers and staff would be vaccinated by Oct. 4, the following Monday. (Neumeister, 9/28)

NPR: Arizona's School Mask Mandate Ban Ruled Unconstitutional 
An Arizona judge ruled that a ban on public school mask mandates, as well as a variety of other laws shoehorned into the state budget by Republican lawmakers, is unconstitutional. The ruling frees public school leaders across Arizona to require students, staff and visitors to wear masks on campus. The law banning that authority was scheduled to take effect on Wednesday. (Giles, 9/27)

And in other news about K-12 schools —

The Baltimore Sun: Is A COVID Vaccine Requirement For Maryland Schools Under Consideration? ‘Not At The Moment,’ Health Secretary Says 
Maryland’s top health official said Monday that the state is not considering requiring coronavirus vaccines for public school students and teachers, leaving the decision instead up to each school district. “We’re being very careful not to be intentionally overbearing, and allowing school systems to take the lead in their individual jurisdictions,” Dennis Schrader, the state health secretary said. “We’re being very deferential to them. We’re giving them our guidance and our best advice, but we don’t want to be interventionists in terms of school policy.” (Wood, 9/27)

AP: Judge Extends Order Halting Iowa Schools Mask Mandate Ban
A federal judge on Monday extended a restraining order for 14 days that prohibits Iowa officials from enforcing a law that bans school districts from enacting mask mandates. The order issued by Judge Robert Pratt extends his initial order from Sept. 13 until Oct. 11 which means school districts may impose mask mandates and the state cannot stop them. (Pitt, 9/27)

The Tennessean: Nashville Schools New Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Continue To Drop
New COVID-19 cases among Metro Nashville Public Schools students and staff continued to drop last week, as new infections also slow statewide. ... Though district officials declined to attribute the continuing drops to the district's consistent universal masking policy alone, Metro Schools is one of a handful of districts that have required masks the entire school year despite Gov. Bill Lee's opt-out executive order issued on Aug. 16. (Mangrum, 9/27)

The New York Times: Schools Scramble To Feed Students Amid Shortages
School officials in a Missouri city have been making twice-weekly runs to Sam’s Club to stock up on frozen pizzas and hot dogs. A Kansas school district ran out of vegetables for two days last month. And a district in St. Paul, Minn. has an emergency supply of frozen grilled cheese sandwiches in case it runs out of all other food. Schools across the country are facing shortages of cafeteria staples like chicken, bread, apple juice and even plastic cutlery, as supply chain woes and a lack of truck drivers complicate the most basic task of feeding students. (Ngo, 9/27)

In higher-education news —

CBS News: Harvard Business School Moves Classes Online Amid Rise In COVID Cases
Harvard Business School says it is reverting to remote learning after beginning the semester with in-person classes, citing a rise in breakthrough COVID-19 cases among its students. All first-year and some second-year MBA students will take classes online beginning this week. Classes will take place remotely at least until October 3, the school said in a statement. (Cerullo, 9/27)

AP: Judge Won't Block Creighton University's Vaccine Mandate
A judge has refused to block Creighton University’s requirement that all students get vaccinated against COVID-19 despite the objections of a handful of students who said getting the shots would violate their religious beliefs against abortion. Douglas County District Judge Marlon Polk said last week that he wouldn’t issue a temporary order blocking the vaccine mandate, and he doesn’t believe the students will ultimately prevail with their challenge to the rule because they had signed a form promising to get vaccinated as soon as a vaccine was fully approved by regulators. (Funk, 9/27)

AP: Iowa University Faculty Want To Require Masks In Classrooms
Faculty at Iowa public universities are demanding the right to require masks in their classrooms regardless of state law or policies against them. Biology professor Steve O’Kane Jr. has pushed a resolution among colleagues at the University of Northern Iowa saying faculty should be allowed to manage their classrooms. O’Kane told The Cedar Rapids Gazette that he’s already imposed a mask mandates for his students and lowers their lab grades if they refuse to comply. (9/27)

Axios: Internal Document Reveals University Of Texas Professors' COVID Angst 
An internal University of Texas document obtained by Axios details professors' concerns over COVID-19 classroom logistics as the fall semester approached. The document, circulated to professors via email in late July, outlines pressing faculty questions on masks, COVID-19 testing and more, with responses from a member of the university's coronavirus task force. (Price, 9/27)