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COVID has taken a dramatic toll on all of us to one degree or another. But among those who have been hardest hit by its effects are those in our schools locally and around the state. Students and teachers alike have seen enormous disruptions and stress caused by the ongoing pandemic.
That’s what led to the emphatic push by the state to return to full in-person instruction last fall, even as we saw a renewed surge in cases, fueled at that time by the delta variant. And then delta gave way to omicron, but the goal remained unchanged – keep schools open, keep students in-person while keeping them safe.
To implement that has been challenging to say the least, particularly as cases have soared again. It’s forced teachers into risky situations… and then forced them out of their classrooms as they or family members contract the virus or are exposed to it. Those moves, done out of an abundance of caution, have forced many teachers to burn through sick days at an alarming rate, adding to their stress and leaving them with the possibility of docked pay for future illnesses.
Against that backdrop, Illinois lawmakers pushed to have the state cover that COVID time off and restore those sick days to teachers who were compelled to take time off in order to meet the state’s objective of safe, in-person instruction. But that push conflicted with another state objective – to get as many people as possible vaccinated, as the ultimate best tool to finally bring the pandemic to an end.
So Governor JB Pritzker scrapped the original bill and has put forward a compromise – restoring those COVID sick days, but only for educators who are fully vaccinated. Those who made the choice not to be vaccinated were free to do so, but will have to take responsibility for the consequences of that choice.
The logic on this is simple: unless you have taken advantage of the ready availability of a safe, effective vaccine, you are contributing to the problem and prolonging the pandemic and its dangers. The vaccine significantly reduces your chance of getting sick and needing the costly sick time benefit. And, no, it’s not a 100% guarantee, but it definitely improves the odds that you will avoid infection, and avoid infecting others.
And even if you do get COVID, vaccination makes it far less likely that you will suffer severe illness, which would mean even more time off and more expense in covering your absence. Restoring that sick time will not be an inexpensive endeavor, but those who got the vaccine did everything they could to reduce those risks and costs, unlike those who chose not to get the shot.
The Springfield Education Association disagrees with this proposal, and will ask District 186 to cover the sick time costs for all teachers, vaccinated and unvaccinated. They say all members should be treated equally. The problem is, its members did not act equally to protect themselves and each other. Educators around the state had the choice of whether or not to get the vaccine. But as with everything in life, choices carry consequences. Those who chose not to get vaccinated were free to do so, but that doesn’t absolve them of the responsibility for that choice.
Teachers who have worked so hard to keep schools open should not have to lose their sick time as part of that effort – but only if they have in fact done everything in their power to minimize the risk to themselves and others. Those who are vaccinated have done that. Those who aren’t have not, and shouldn’t be treated as though they have.
