Nicole Cournaya has stated that she wears a mask and maintains social distance in her classroom. | We Stand With Nicole (givesendgo.com)
Nicole Cournaya has stated that she wears a mask and maintains social distance in her classroom. | We Stand With Nicole (givesendgo.com)
A second grade teacher at a St. Charles elementary school has been fired for refusing to get vaccinated and is now suing.
The teacher, Nicole Cournaya, taught at the school for 22 years, according to ABC 7.
Her attorney, Patrick Walsh, told Chicago’s Morning Answer that the lawsuit was challenging the governor's authority to eliminate due process per the state’s Department of Public Health quarantine orders.
"So, the Illinois Department of Public Health has the authority to issue a quarantine and under their definitions, a quarantine would include masks, it would include forced vaccines, and it would include testing and it also includes exclusion from school,” he said. “And only the Illinois Department of Public Health or local health department has the authority to issue a quarantine, and that's done by serving the subject of the quarantine a four-page document to which you can consent or not consent.
“And if you don't the Department of Public Health has to go to court and get a court order and that's an important due process protection. The governor's executive order removed that protection, so our point is that the governor doesn't have the authority to suspend due process under these circumstances."
According to ABC 7, there are also six Naperville firefighters and paramedics who will also file suit to try to stop the vaccine mandate.
Cournaya has stated that she wears a mask and maintains social distance in her classroom and would never knowingly put her students at risk.
Geneva school district superintendent Dr. Kent Mutchler said Cournaya left the district no choice in terminating her employment contract.
"We are thankful to Geneva CUSD 304 school personnel for complying with this executive order as we continue to navigate an evolving situation,” he said. “Our goal remains focused on supporting in-person learning for our students while protecting the health and safety of our entire school community."
Employers have not disclosed how many people have been sent home due to non-compliance of the mandate due to HIPPA laws.
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