The injunction filed Thursday, which received a hearing Friday afternoon, specifically requested the court order the school district to stop reassigning teachers before the contractual reassignment process was followed and stop refusing to accept accommodation requests under Gov. Tim Walz’s Executive Order 20-82.
It also stressed that schools shouldn't reopen until more safety measures are in place, including ramped up vaccine availability for teachers and staff members.
The court granted a limited temporary restraining order enjoining the district from requiring that members return to work in person on Monday if they have already obtained accommodations to work from home or are currently seeking them. The court also agreed that the district appears to have unilaterally changed the teacher contract’s reassignment procedures. The union is likely to succeed on this issue with the PERB and will pursue this issue in their unfair labor practices complaint.
In its conclusion of the law pertaining to this order, the court stated that accommodations should be permitted due to the balance of harms.
"The risk of contracting a serious illness which has killed almost a half-million persons in the United States is axiomatically a profound harm," District Judge Susan Robiner wrote in the ruling.
The order also stated that because it understands at least 40% of Minneapolis students have chosen to remain distance learners, the district should be able to have educators provide remote instruction to remote learners instead of reporting to a school building to do so.
“Here, remaining at home has been an acceptable, reasonable accommodation since March 2020," the ruling states. "And while Members working from home will likely not be able to perform essential functions for classroom learners, they have already demonstrated they are able to perform the essential functions without undue hardship for students who remain remote learners."
Robiner clarified that her ruling was not directed at the school district's plan to return students to in-person classes.
Minneapolis Public Schools issued a statement Sunday applauding the ruling and reiterated the district's intent to bring students and staff back into the classrooms starting Monday.
"We are confident in our decision to return to in-person learning, as is our state-mandated Regional COVID Support Team, because MPS has taken all the steps and more that health experts have recommended to prioritize the health and safety of our staff and students," the statement read, in part.
A Minneapolis Public Schools survey found nearly 50% of parents wanted their children to return to school.
Related Stories
February 01, 2021 at 02:45AM
https://ift.tt/36tzdFq
Judge rules Minneapolis teachers with accommodations can work from home - KSTP
https://ift.tt/2VuKK1x
Work
No comments:
Post a Comment