The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board of Education voted to delay its student COVID-19 vaccine mandate until the fall term in 2022.

The previous student LAUSD vaccine mandate required all students ages 12 and up to be fully vaccinated by January 10, which would mark the start of the spring term.

Even with 87% of eligible students being vaccinated, up to 30,000 students may have had to opt for online independent study for not meeting the vaccine requirement.

The current student vaccination rate is what led interim superintendent Megan K. Reilly to suggest the delay.

“The science is clear – vaccinations are an essential part of protection against COVID-19,” Interim Superintendent Megan K. Reilly said on December 12. “Los Angeles Unified applauds the 86.52 percent of students aged 12 and older and their families who are in compliance with the vaccine mandate, and the many other families who are still in the process of adding their vaccine records to the system. This is a major milestone, and there’s still more time to get vaccinated!”

The board also voted to have all charter schools included in vaccination requirements, as the previous mandate only applied to charter schools co-located on LAUSD campuses.

Baseline COVID-19 testing will still be required of all students and staff at the start of each term and weekly testing of all students and staff, regardless of vaccination status, through January 2022.

By February, the weekly testing will only be required for unvaccinated students.

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