LA Community College District requires students, staff to get vaccinated

Los Angeles Community College District students and employees who do not have religious or medical exemptions will have to show proof of full vaccination status by Oct. 18 in order to access district buildings, classrooms, libraries, gymnasiums, facilities or other indoor settings.

While the requirement for students is a condition of physically accessing campus facilities, the vaccination mandate for employees is also “as a condition of employment,” according to the policy.

The LACCD Board of Trustees approved the policy Wednesday as an amendment to its Board Policy 2900, which was adopted last month. The district’s previous policy required either vaccination or regular testing.

Students and employees who have medical or religious exemptions will be required to regularly test for COVID-19 and show proof of negative results. Testing sites will open in the next two weeks at each of LACCD’s nine campuses, and the district will undergo extensive outreach to students and staff to inform everyone of the new policy and deadline for compliance.

The Foundation for the Los Angeles Community Colleges is offering students up to $150 in incentives to get vaccinated, thanks to a grant from the Kaiser Permanente Foundation.

“We are following the science and the recommendations of our leading public health officials that vaccinations are the best tool to end this pandemic,” LACCD Board of Trustees President Steve Veres said. “We care about our employees and our students and their safety is our top priority.”

All employees, as well as all students who are on campus for the fall, will have to submit baseline COVID-19 test results by Oct. 18. Students and employees who are vaccinated can then upload their proof of full vaccination for review by the district. Once it’s reviewed, students and employees will receive a QR code to display on their smart phones to access district facilities.

All students, employees and visitors are required to wear masks regardless of their vaccination status while inside buildings and facilities, and those planning to visit a campus or district facility must complete a symptom self-check every day they intend to be onsite.

The University of California and California State University systems have also enacted policies requiring their students and staff to get vaccinated.

The LACCD’s nine colleges are Los Angeles City College, East Los Angeles College, Los Angeles Harbor College, Los Angeles Mission College, Los Angeles Pierce College, Los Angeles Southwest College, Los Angeles Trade- Technical College, Los Angeles Valley College and West Los Angeles College.

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