The Supreme Court denied an injunction Monday in the challenge of New York City’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for public school employees.

The injunction would have restricted New York City from requiring public school employees to be vaccinated.

A group of four public school teachers and staff first asked Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who assesses emergency appeals from the region that includes New York City, to consider their emergency request to block the mandate due to their religious objections in September. The Bronx-born federal trial court judge denied the request and did not refer the case to the full court.

However, after their first attempt, the teachers sent a new request to conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, who did refer it to the full court.

The news comes on the same day masks are now optional for public school children in grades kindergarten and above in New York City.