AS the 2021-22 academic school starts, many districts are making changes as the Coronavirus continues to spread across the county.
The Los Angeles school board is the latest one to adopt new plans to help keep their students and faculty safe during the pandemic.
What is the Los Angeles Unified School District vaccine mandate?
On Thursday, September 9, 2021, the school board announced a mandate that will require all students 12 and older to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend in-person classes.
The proposal was approved after a 7-0 vote and will require students to get their first vaccination dose no later than November 21, and their second dose no later than December 19.
For students who participate in in-person extracurricular programs, they will be required to have their first vaccine by no later than October 3.
“We want to do everything possible to make sure that L.A. Unified doesn’t end up on the long list of school districts that have had to re-close and go back to distance learning after welcoming students back this fall,” Board member Nick Melvoin said.
Interim Superintendent Megan Reilly added in, “As the second-largest district in the country, with a richly diverse student population, we know the impact and experiences of Covid-19 are varied amongst our students and our families, and that there are different levels of comfort and discomfort with the vaccine and other Covid-related safety measures.”
Can students decline the vaccination?
The vaccination requirement is for all students who are eligible.
For those who decline the vaccine, there is an online Independent Study Program option that students can enroll in, during the meeting it was revealed that 15,000 students are currently signed up for the remote leaning option.
Board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin said that the district is “trying to do everything we possibly can to keep our schools safe.”
“Cases are on the rise and children are at risk from the Delta variant in ways we didn’t see last semester,” she continued. “Our responsibility to children and our communities is their safety and well-being.”
What vaccine is available for children 12-15?
So far, there are only three Covid-19 vaccines on the market, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer.
While adults have three different options, only the Pfizer vaccine is available for children between the ages of 12 and 15.
While it has only been authorized for emergency use in children that age, it was recently fully approved by the FDA for people 16 and older.
