The district is offering an online independent study option for those who opt out of in-person learning this year, but so far, only a tiny percentage of students have chosen it.
The months between now and the vaccine requirement’s taking effect will allow the district to conduct outreach and educational programs for families. According to the Los Angeles County Department of Health, 58 percent of the district’s 12-to-18-year-olds have already received at least one vaccine dose.
Los Angeles Unified has been operating vaccine clinics in schools, and has the nation’s broadest school testing program, screening all students and staff members weekly. Masks are required for every individual on campus, both indoors and outdoors, and staff members must be vaccinated unless they qualify for one of the limited exceptions for serious medical conditions and sincerely held religious beliefs.
“Our goal is to keep kids and teachers as safe as possible and in the classroom,” said Nick Melvoin, a Los Angeles school board member, in a written statement expressing support for the resolution. “A medical and scientific consensus has emerged that the best way to protect everyone in our schools and communities is for all those who are eligible to get vaccinated.”
A key constituency supporting the student vaccine mandate is the city’s teachers’ union, United Teachers Los Angeles. Since the start of the pandemic, the group has pushed for stringent safety measures, and during the last academic year, a longer period of remote learning. Los Angeles and other districts in California were among the last in the country to reopen classrooms, and the union continues to ask for more aggressive quarantines for those exposed to the virus.