LAUSD Board will consider COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students

All eligible students aged 12 and over in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) would be required to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend in-person classes under a proposal going before the district’s Board of Education Thursday.

The board has called a special meeting for 2 p.m. Thursday to consider the mandate. According to the agenda, the proposal would require “COVID-19 vaccinations for all students who access in-person instructional programs operated on district facilities, who are 12 years of age and older.”

People under age 12 are ineligible for COVID vaccines, since none of the currently available vaccinations have been approved for use in that age group. The Pfizer vaccine is approved on an emergency use basis for people aged 12-15, and it has full authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for people 16 and over.

Details about the district’s proposed student vaccine mandate — including a planned start date for the requirement — were not immediately available.

United Teachers Los Angeles, the union representing LAUSD teachers, recently announced its support for a vaccine mandate for students. The district already requires weekly COVID testing for students and employees, regardless of their vaccination status.

All district employees must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 15.

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