Springfield District 186 teacher who defied COVID mandate shares vaccination status

A Springfield School District 186 teacher who had been in defiance of a state mandate requiring teachers to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccinations or submit to weekly testing said she has informed the district that she is vaccinated.

Kadence Koen, a business and math teacher at Southeast High School, also posted her vaccination card on her Facebook page early Saturday morning.

Earlier, Koen uploaded a copy of the card to Gina McLaughlin-Schurman, the district's assistant superintendent of human resources.

The card showed she received her first dose of the vaccine on June 29 with the second dose coming on July 19, well before Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker came out with the mandate about school personnel.

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Koen had until Wednesday to fulfill a "remediation plan" set out by the district at an Oct. 27 meeting. Technically, Koen is on unpaid leave through Nov. 17.

Koen said Saturday she expected to be in the classroom immediately after that.

Kingsley Keys, a music teacher at Franklin Middle School, is also in defiance of the mandate and is on leave without pay.

That drive to be back with her students, Koen said, was what motivated her the most to divulge her vaccination status.

"I didn't want to have to produce a vaccination card because I don't think that's legal or appropriate, but if you ask me to choose between my personal beliefs and my students, my students will win," Koen said. "My mother said that I was a round peg in a round hole (at Southeast) and I do well with kids there and that's where I belong. I know I make a difference there.

"I can't imagine my life not teaching."

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A spokeswoman said early Sunday that the district cannot discuss any personnel or remediation issues. She said "any developments" would be addressed Monday.

The spokeswoman did not make Superintendent Jennifer Gill or Schurman available for comment.

Koen, 43, said her decision about not informing the district was "always about liberties and freedoms and medical autonomy."

She admitted "disappointment" in not getting the issue into the court system and ultimately hoped some rendering might be made before she would have to go public about her status.

Koen was also disappointed with Illinois legislators in trying to pass the amendment to the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act that would bar employees from citing their moral beliefs as a valid reason for refusing to comply with a workplace COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Koen has cited the act as a reason for defying the mandate.

But Koen was uplifted that her stance "created conversation in the community. I am glad it's getting people to think. I am glad it's getting people to look into what's going on.

"Whether people agree or disagree with my methods or agree or disagree with my stance, I'm glad people are talking. I'm glad people are no longer just accepting things as this is the way it has to be."

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Koen said she was moved by messages from current and former Southeast students, "most agreeing with me, some of them disagreeing with me, but all in support of me standing up for what I believe in and me teaching students to stand up for what they believe in."

Koen, 43, admitted there were other teachers in the district who refused to get the vaccination, but would keep testing. She understood that others weren't in the financial situation to go on unpaid.

She also denied it was "a stunt" and that she didn't know Keys before the current incident.

In a statement messaged Saturday, Keys said "this forced compliance as a condition of employment stands in stark contrast to the very impetus for informed consent and legislated medical autonomy, rights replete throughout federal and state statute, legislated to counter overreach. Historically, you’re never forced into compliance by the good guys.

"My overarching reason to not test is the popular adage: if you leave your children a world where you never stood up, they’ll inherit a world where they can’t. I doubt I'll persuade some to my viewpoint and why I stand where I do. I stand on a broad base of substantial research and well-thought out decisions. If the type and frequency of test can be forced as a condition of employment while unilaterally changing contractual language with zero ratification or voting, then I guarantee they will not stop there.

"In this culture of increased overreach and control, aimed at controlling every heartbeat, I stand up for all Illinoisans willing to listen."

Both Koen and Keys spoke at an Oct. 18 school board meeting. Then, the board passed resolutions, or "notices to remedy," stating the teachers' defiant actions could "(warrant) discharge and dismissal."

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Defiant Springfield, IL, teacher shares she is vaccinated for COVID