NYC educators furloughed over alleged fake COVID vaccination cards

Dozens of New York City Department of Education employees will be placed on unpaid leave starting Monday for allegedly submitting fake proof of a COVID-19 vaccination, The Post has learned.

The staff in question, including teachers and administrators, were notified by email on Wednesday not to return to work after spring break, according to the DOE and screenshots shared on social media.

“Fraudulent vaccination cards are not only illegal, they undermine our schools’ best protection against COVID-19 — the universal adult vaccine,” said Nathaniel Styer, a spokesman for the department.

“We immediately proceeded to furlough these employees – fewer than 100 – without pay,” he said.

Some teachers have contacted the DOE to say they received the notification “in error,” according to the teachers’ union.

“It is wholly inappropriate for the DOE to unilaterally remove UFT members from the payroll based on the mere suspicion that vaccination documentation is fraudulent,” Beth Norton, general counsel at the United Federation of Teachers, wrote to the DOE.

At least two other city agencies — the FDNY and the Sanitation Department — have also had issues with immunization card fraud among their employees. This winter, two senior NYPD police officers were placed on modified duty after they allegedly tried to circumvent the citywide vaccination mandate by submitting the fake paperwork.

“It’s not surprising that people despair when their entire lives are threatened,” said Michael Kane, leader of Teachers for Choice, a group that opposes COVID vaccine mandates as a requirement for teaching or attending school.

“It’s a shame the names of these individuals aren’t Kyrie Irving or someone else in a more powerful position because it really seems like these mandates are turning into a class struggle,” Kane said, referring to the Mayor Eric Adams’ controversial vaccine exemption for professional athletes and artists.

The Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York School District and law enforcement will investigate allegations of fraudulent vaccine documentation.

The SCI declined to comment for the Post and referred all inquiries to the DOE.