Independent K-12 schools weigh vaccine mandates

Independent schools across Connecticut are weighing the pros and cons of vaccine mandates, considering how far they’ll go to keep their communities safe from COVID-19.

With eligibility expanding to school-aged children, now including those ages 12 and older, some primary and secondary schools are deciding whether to require the coronavirus vaccine ahead of this school opening in the fall.

A few boarding schools, where students not only take classes together but also live in close quarters, have already announced new immunization requirements next semester.

A few day schools have also decided to mandate the shot, but most are waiting to make a decision until closer to the fall, their spokesmen said. Several others, including religious schools, told Hearst Connecticut Media that parents can choose whether to inoculate their kids or not.

National data reflects a similar trend.

“The majority of schools reported that they would likely encourage but not require that students get the COVID-19 vaccine

(once approved for different age groups),” said Myra McGovern of the National Association of Independent Schools.

Nationally, between 15 and 17 percent of independent schools plan to require the vaccine with legal exemptions, according to a survey of member schools conducted by the association between May 3 and 6. Some schools have not yet determined their approach.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only shot currently authorized under emergency use for minors. The federal Food and Drug Administration has yet to issue full approval, which experts say could impact schools’ decisions on mandating the jabs before then.

“There is legal uncertainty about whether you can mandate an EUA (emergency use authorization) vaccine, and there are, as of yet, no court decisions on this issue,” said Dorit Reiss, professor of law at UC Hastings College of the Law with expertise in vaccine policy.

Reiss added that private schools “have more leeway to set their own conditions,” while public school immunization requirements are set by the state, not individual schools or districts.

Some elite Connecticut boarding schools, including The Taft School in Watertown and Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, have already notified families of student vaccine mandates for this fall.

Schools requiring the vaccine exempt students from vaccination requirements if they have certain medical conditions, such as a weakened immune system or an allergy to a vaccine. In some cases, schools might provide religious or philosophical exemptions as well.

St. Luke’s School, a secular private school in New Canaan, is planning to require vaccines for all eligible faculty, staff and students, accommodating those with documented medical exemptions, officials there said.

Other middle and high schools are still on the fence, and join colleges and universities as they decide whether they should or legally can require vaccines under emergency use authorization. At the higher education level, some researchers have noticed the schools with mandates are often well-resourced and selective, and could defend themselves against legal challenges and the threat of enrollment dips, POLITICO reported.

Reiss, the vaccine law and policy specialist, described a school’s decision more as a balancing act of priorities.

“Schools are going to balance the risk of closures if there’s a COVID-19 outbreak, the view of their staff, parents and community on this and the risks of litigation or losing students to a mandate,” she said. “Being well resourced does not mean you want litigation, which can be unpredictable, costly and damaging to reputation.”

Schools already have at least some vaccine mandates for students to prevent the spread of diseases such as tetanus, measles and polio.

Several schools in Greenwich, including Greenwich Country Day School, Greenwich Academy, Brunswick School and Sacred Heart Greenwich, have yet to make a determination one way or another.

“We are weighing all the options,” said Kimberly

Eves, the director of strategic communications at Greenwich Country Day, a co-education independent school with notable alumni George H. W. Bush and press secretary Jen Psaki.

“Our plan is to consult with our medical advisors this summer about all of our mitigation strategies for next year,” said Haley Sonneland, who directs communications at Sacred Heart Greenwich, an allgirl Catholic school independently operated within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport. “Vaccines will certainly be part of the conversation, as will physical distancing, mask-wearing, sanitation protocols and more.”

The Diocese of Bridgeport told Hearst Connecticut Media that its decisions are based on CDC and local health department guidelines.

Immaculate High School in Danbury, a co-educational Catholic school overseen by the Diocese of Bridgeport, has already reached a determination.

“While we promote getting vaccinated and have sponsored special dates for students 16-plus with (the Community Health Center), we will not be requiring students to be vaccinated,” said Mary Maloney, the school’s president.

Bridgeport Hope School, a small non-sectarian elementary and middle school borne out of a home school collective, also decided to leave vaccination decisions up to parents, though most faculty have opted for the shot.

Canterbury, a co-educational boarding school in New Milford, formed a medical task force that is still discussing whether or not to require faculty, staff and students to be vaccinated next year.

Whether more independent schools require immunization closer to the fall, and how those decisions will impact the course of the pandemic, remain to be seen.

“School immunization mandates work,” said Reiss, the law professor. “A large body of literature shows that school mandates lead to higher vaccine rates and less outbreaks... My impression is that, as with seatbelt laws, once a mandate is in place for a while, most people accept it as a given and it has a normative effect.”