BUTTE COLLEGE REQUIRING VACCINE FOR FACULTY, STAFF
Students are not required but financial incentive is offered
BUTTE VALLEY >> The Butte College board of trustees has approved a new COVID-19 vaccine policy for its employees.
The policy, which was approved Aug. 25, states that employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and those who do not receive the vaccination will be subject to testing and must comply with other safety measures. It does not require students to be vaccinated at this time.
Butte College President Samia Yaqub said the college is aiming to have full implementation beginning Nov. 1.
Butte College Director of Institutional Advancement Lisa DeLaby said she could not clarify how often staff will be required to be tested. DeLaby also said she is unsure if staff members would be allowed to choose whether or not to receive the vaccine, or if a medical or religious exemption would be required. DeLaby said these two questions and others will be discussed by the Butte College Safe Reopening Task Force.
“Our task now is to implement this policy,” Yaqub said in a press release. “In the next two months, the Safe Reopening Taskforce will work through the steps necessary for implementation. We will determine how to verify vaccination status and how to provide regular COVID-19 testing. We will work with our unions on impacts on work conditions.”
In her convocation address to faculty and staff on Aug. 18, Yaqub explained how and why Butte College is not requiring students to
be vaccinated while the California State University and University of California systems are requiring students to do so.
Yaqub explained that the UC and CSU systems are run by a centralized board which makes a decision for the entire system, whereas at the community college level schools are locally governed and can make decisions best applicable for their schools. Butte College is part of the Butte/Glenn College single college district, which includes the campuses located in Orland, Chico and Oroville.
“The Butte-Glenn Community College District is committed to protecting the health and wellbeing of students, faculty, staff, administrators and the communities it serves, as well as maintaining higher education access and attainment for our students,” the policy states. “As the district works toward the safe resumption of increased on campus learning, working and other activities, it embraces a comprehensive strategy designed to reduce the likelihood of transmission of the COVID-19 virus.”
While Butte College has not implemented a mandatory vaccine policy for its students, students who show proof of COVID-19 vaccination are eligible for a $100 incentive. Butte College said it would announce more details soon.
Butte College’s Student Health Clinic is offering COVID-19 vaccinations on a walk-in basis from 8 to 9 a.m. Tuesdays and Fridays, and from 8 to 9 a.m. and 2 to 3 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays. The Student Health Clinic is located in Parking Lot 3C across from the Arts Building.
The policy can be found in full by visiting https:// bit.ly/2V3XXS4.
Mask policy
Butte College has implemented an on-campus face mask policy which requires face masks be work by all accessing indoor campus facilities regardless of vaccination status.
The guidance notes several other areas on the campus in which masks are required, including on Butte Colleges buses and vans, at the Student Health Clinic, Sports Medicine areas as well as the Child Development Center.
The guidance states those fully vaccinated may go unmasked outdoors, while stating those non-vaccinated, “are encouraged to wear masks, especially in crowded areas.”
Butte College’s full “Return to Campus Guidance,” updated Aug. 20, can be found at http://www.butte. edu/coronavirus/documents/return_to_campus. pdf.