Los Angeles: LAUSD delays COVID-19 vaccine enforcement for students
LAUSD reported an 87% compliance rate among students
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Los Angeles Unified School District announced that it will not enforce the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students until the start of the 2022 school year, which prevents up to 34,000 students from being barred from schools over their vaccine statuses.
Fox 11 Los Angeles reported Tuesday that Megan K. Reilly, the interim superintendent, told the board that the vaccination rate among children is now over 87%. There are 630,000 students In the school system.
Parents opposed to LAUSD's student vaccine mandate rally outside the district office in Los Angeles while the school board discussed enforcement of the mandate on Tuesday, December 14, 2021. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images) (Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
The LAUSD announced earlier this year that all students over the age of 12 need to be vaccinated in order to attend classes on campus. The Associated Press called the move "one of the toughest anti-COVID mandates" in the country.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sahana Malhorta, 7, is one of the first 5-7 year-olds to be vaccinated against COVID-19 at the LAUSD vaccination site located at Arleta High School in Arleta, CA (Photo by David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images) (David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
Under the previous guidelines, students who were unable to show proof of vaccination would not be permitted to have in-person learning following winter break unless they have an exemption. The Los Angeles Times reported that unvaccinated students were set to be moved into an independent study program or would have to leave the system altogether.
The station reported that the board voted to expand the vaccine requirement to include all charter schools authorized by the district. The original mandate applied only to charter schools on LAUSD campuses, the report said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to this report