Teachers must get vaccine or tests
California becomes first state to issue mandate for K-12 public, private school employees
California will be the first state in the country to require public and private school teachers and staff to either be vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday as many of the state’s 6.1 million students return to classrooms for the fall term amid a sharp rise in infections.
“We think this is the right thing to do and a sustainable way to keep schools open,” Newsom said at a news conference at Carl B. Munck Elementary School in Oakland.
It was the latest turn in California’s pandemic battle over reopening schools. The Golden
State has been one of the slowest to return to the classroom. Teachers prioritized for vaccines remain wary of returning amid ongoing outbreaks, while parents argue kids are at lower risk from the virus and have suffered more from prolonged remote learning.
The new state policy for school staff will take effect today, and schools must be in full compliance by Oct. 15. Free testing is available to schools through the state’s K-12 school testing program.
A number of large unified districts had al
ready announced similar vaccine or test requirements, including in San Jose, San Francisco and Long Beach. On Tuesday, Oakland Unified School District announced that it will require all staff, contractors and volunteers to get vaccinated or tested weekly. The district of 50,200 students said 92% of its 3,700 staff already reported being vaccinated.
Keith Brown, president of the Oakland Educators Association, said the teachers union was in support.
“Vaccines work and keep our students and communities safe,” Brown said. “This is a collaborative effort. We are united for our students and community.”
California Teachers Association President E. Toby Boyd issued a statement supporting the governor’s action, noting that even though 90% of educators have been vaccinated, “in the past few weeks, we have seen a rising spread of the Delta variant, especially among children, just as the new school year is starting.”
“Educators want to be in classrooms with their students,” Boyd said, “and the best way to make sure that happens is for everyone who is medically eligible to be vaccinated, with robust testing and multi-tiered safety measures.”
Wednesday’s announcement marked a shift for Newsom, who as recently as Friday had refused to say whether teachers and school staff would face the same vaccine requirements he has imposed on state and health care workers. He said there had been discussions with labor leaders that led to the change.
“We engaged in robust conversations over the weekend,” Newsom said. “It’s a process trying to work to develop trust among our partners. We want to develop a cadence of engagement.”
Oakland Unified staff have until Aug. 27 to upload proof of their vaccination. Starting Sept. 7, all OUSD staff, including remote workers, contractors and volunteers who have not been fully vaccinated, must begin COVID-19 testing at least once a week.
In addition to the vaccine or test requirement, starting Monday the district will require everyone to wear masks outdoors as well as indoors on school campuses. The state currently requires masks at schools indoors and recommends them for outdoors. San Jose Unified will also require that everyone mask up when indoors and outdoors, regardless of vaccination status.
San Jose Unified spokeswoman Jennifer Maddox said Wednesday that 91% of the district’s 2,693 staff members had reported being fully vaccinated, leaving only 235 who will need to get tested twice a week unless they get shots.
“Obviously we can’t guarantee that it’s going to be 100% effective but based on the guidance, we feel very confident that our students and staff will be as safe as we can possibly make them,” she said.
The Oakland district also is launching a revised COVID-19 case dashboard, and is extending hours for testing locations.
Megan Bacigalupi, executive director of OpenSchoolsCA and a parent of two Oakland Unified students, questioned on Twitter why district officials would go beyond the state public health department’s guidance that masks in schools are optional outdoors.
“This will not keep anyone safer and only puts another unnecessary burden onto kids,” Bacigalupi tweeted Wednesday.
Wednesday’s announcement drew praise from medical experts like Dr. Bob Wachter, who chairs the medical department at UC San Francisco and called it “absolutely the right move” on Twitter.
John Cox, the Republican Newsom defeated in 2018 who is among those vying to replace him in a recall election Sept. 14, said he opposes the vaccine or test requirement for educators.
“This is just further government intrusion into people’s personal lives,” Cox said. “We must draw the line and protect people’s freedoms. Instead of more mandates, we should be giving parents greater choice when it comes to schools.”
But Newsom’s Democratic supporters like Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf accused other Republican leaders in states like Florida of endangering students and families by blocking mask mandates.
“This is truly a show of leadership,” Schaaf said. “Leadership matters more than ever in this pandemic.”
Asked whether he considered a tougher vaccine mandate — without the option of testing — Newsom said he wouldn’t rule it out but said “we’re confident we’ll see compliance.”
“We’re just announcing this, so let’s give this an opportunity to work,” he said. “Look, the vast majority have been vaccinated — not everybody — but we need to get the other support staff vaccinated as well.”