Teachers for Choice
Teachers for Choice (TFC) is an American activist group based in New York. It was founded by Michael Kane, a national grassroots organizer for Children's Health Defense (CHD).[1]
History
On September 6, 2023, Judge Ralph Porzio of the Supreme Court of the State of New York ruled that ten New York City school teachers were to return to work with backpay, benefits and seniority from the time of their suspension.[2][3] The court found that the denials of the teachers' applications for exemption on religious grounds from the City's mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy were "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable."[4]
Michael Kane presented at work the following day, joined by Matthew Connor of Bravest for Choice. Kane was told he was not allowed to work until he was contacted by the New York City Department of Education, which flagged the court decision as "under review."[5]
On October 21, 2024, TFC announced the launch of Make America Healthy Again.Vote and called on the the "vaccine choice community" to sign a petition to "encourage President Trump to support the issues of the Vaccine Choice community."[6]
Kane and TFC were co-signatories to a letter sent to President Trump on June 4, 2025, by a national coalition of religious and medical freedom groups urging the newly-established Religious Liberty Commission to re-establish rights to religious exemptions to vaccine mandates in New York, California, Connecticut and Maine.[7] A week later, TFC submitted a public comment through New York Workers for Choice raising issues around New York City's ongoing application of its discriminatory religious exemption policy for public workers, despite the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit having struck it down.[8]
Organization
TFC solicits donations through the Health Freedom Defense Fund.[9] TFC is a member of the New York Workers for Choice coalition.[8:1]
Personnel
| Name | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Kane | Founder[1:1] | United Federation of Teachers (UFT, former), Children's Health Defense (CHD), Honest Media Project |
| Jessica Anderson | Steering Committee[10] | United Federation of Teachers (UFT) |
| Anthony Bloch | Steering Committee | United Federation of Teachers (UFT, former) |
| Crystal Bozeman-Palacio | Steering Committee | - |
| Peggy Canfield | Steering Committee | New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) |
| Valerie Domenech | Steering Committee | New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) |
| Jen Farrell | Steering Committee | New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) |
| Monique G. | Steering Committee | United Federation of Teachers (UFT) |
| Dennison Joyce | Steering Committee | United Federation of Teachers (UFT) |
| Renee Lucca | Steering Committee | United Federation of Teachers (UFT) |
| Jill MacSwan | Steering Committee | New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) |
| Melissa Melissinos | Steering Committee | New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) |
| Mawuli Olivierre | Steering Committee | United Federation of Teachers (UFT, former) |
| Kimberly Plush | Steering Committee | New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) |
| Garrett Ramirez | Steering Committee | United Federation of Teachers (UFT, former), Left Against Lockdown |
| Vicki Savini | Steering Committee | New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) |
| Kate W. | Steering Committee | Clarence Teachers' Association (CTA) |
| Sujata Gibson | Advisor[10:1] | - |
| John Gilmore | Advisor | Autism Action Network |
| Mary Holland | Advisor | Children's Health Defense (CHD) |
| Joe Mugivan | Advisor | - |
| Rita Palma | Advisor | My Kids My Choice |
| Michael Sussmann | Advisor | Sussman & Associates |
| Tramell Thompson | Advisor | Progressive Action |
Partners
Allies and partners of TFC include:[11][12]
- Autism Action Network
- Bravest for Choice
- Children's Health Defense
- Children's Health Defense New York Chapter
- Cops 4 Freedom
- Court Workers for Choice
- Do We Need This?
- Educators for Freedom (E4F)
- Finest for Choice
- Finest Unfiltered
- Folding Chairs
- Frederick Douglass Foundation
- Medical Professionals for Informed Consent (MPIC)
- My Kids My Choice
- New York Alliance for Vaccine Rights
- New York Freedom Rally
- New York Health Voters
- New York Workers for Choice
- Progressive Action
- Restore Childhood
- Rockland Bergen Health Freedom Alliance
- Strongest for Choice
- Strongest for Freedom
- Uniting New York State
Publications
- December 20, 2023: "Unvaccinated NYC Workers Give Moving Testimony at City Hall"
- December 29, 2023: "Back to Albany Jan 23 Update: Co-Sponsors, Bills, Buses, and ZOOM Education"
- August 18, 2024: "Teachers for Choice Stands With Aura Moody!"
- September 7, 2024: "Trump's Campaign Says He is Only Against Covid Vaccine Mandates, not All Vaccine Mandates"
- September 22, 2024: "What role did Dr. Varma play contracting China-linked FULGENT GENETICS to provide COVID testing in NYC Schools?"
- December 2, 2024: "Over 250 Unvaccinated NYC Workers Send Letter to Trump, Vance and Kennedy"
- December 4, 2024: "Congressman Nick Langworthy Fighting for Unvaccinated Educators in NYC!"
- February 14, 2025: "Will MAHA Help Pave the Way for AI Doctors in America?"
External links
Michael Kane. Children’s Health Defense. Retrieved January 4, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230104010224/https://childrenshealthdefense.org/authors/michael-kane/ ↩︎ ↩︎
Baletti, B. (2023, September 7). “Huge” Victory: New York Supreme Court Reinstates 10 Teachers Fired for Refusing COVID Vaccine. Children’s Health Defense. http://archive.today/2023.09.08-000914/https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/nyc-school-teacher-victory-covid-vaccine-mandate/ ↩︎
Pandolfo, C. (2023, September 8). NYC teachers win jobs back with backpay after refusing COVID-19 vaccine. Fox News. https://web.archive.org/web/20230908192734/https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nyc-teachers-win-jobs-back-backpay-refusing-covid-19-vaccine ↩︎
Porzio, R. J. (2023, September 6). Teachers for Choice v. City of New York, and the New York City Department of Education. Children’s Health Defense; Supreme Court of the State of New York. https://web.archive.org/web/20230908042725/https://childrenshealthdefense.org/wp-content/uploads/september-2023-new-york-teachers-decision-order.pdf ↩︎
Kane, M. (2023, September 8). I was NOT allowed to work this week. Substack; Teachers for Choice. http://archive.today/2023.09.08-193118/https://teachersforchoice.substack.com/p/i-was-not-allowed-to-work-this-week ↩︎
Kane, M. (2024, October 21). The Vaccine Choice Community is Lobbying President Trump Right Now! Substack; Teachers for Choice. http://archive.today/2024.10.21-184103/https://teachersforchoice.substack.com/p/the-vaccine-choice-community-is-lobbying ↩︎
Kane, M. (2025, June 9). Religious Exemption Restoration Plan Sent in Letter to Trump Administration. Substack; Teachers for Choice. https://teachersforchoice.substack.com/p/religious-exemption-restoration-plan ↩︎
Kane, M. (2025, June 12). NY Workers for Choice Submits Public Comment to Religious Liberty Commission. Substack; Teachers for Choice. https://teachersforchoice.substack.com/p/ny-workers-for-choice-submits-public ↩︎ ↩︎
Health Freedom Defense Fund (HFDF). Anedot. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220812000926/https://secure.anedot.com/health-freedom-defense-fund-hfdf/nytc ↩︎
New York Teacherv. (2020, October 4). Steering Committee Members and Advisors. Teachers for Choice. https://web.archive.org/web/20241004192803/https://teachersforchoice.org/2020/10/04/steering-committee-members/ ↩︎ ↩︎
About. Teachers for Choice. Retrieved September 8, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230908194832/https://teachersforchoice.org/about/ ↩︎
Allies. New York Freedom Rally. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230307055242/https://newyorkfreedomrally.org/allies ↩︎