Oakland Unified has become one of the first school districts in Northern California to take the controversial step of requiring all eligible students to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The school board’s action late Wednesday came a month after Los Angeles Unified issued a similar mandate in an effort to fight the resurgence of COVID-19, driven by the highly contagious delta variant. The Hayward Unified and Piedmont Unified school districts also on Wednesday approved requirements for students to be vaccinated.
The resolution approved by Oakland’s school board in a 5-1 vote with one abstention requires all students 12 and older to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 “unless prohibited by law.” Exceptions will be made for “personal belief exemptions,” if students provide a note from a doctor confirming they received information about the vaccine from the doctor.
School board vice president Sam Davis, who introduced the resolution and made the amendment to allow for personal exemptions, said his hope is that the requirement will urge those who are hesitant about getting vaccinated to have a conversation with a medical professional about it.
But details on enforcing that, as well as setting a timeline for mandate to take effect, have yet to be worked out.
The resolution directs Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell to return to the school board next month with recommendations for enforcing the mandate.
Oakland’s resolution also directs Trammell to launch a COVID-19 “vaccination campaign” and encourages her “to establish vaccination thresholds and incentives for each school and incentives to meet such thresholds.”
The hours-long discussion that engaged numerous parents and other public speakers as well as school board members reflected the sensitive nature of forcing students to be vaccinated to continue going to classes.
The subject has been “swirling around in every district as they decide whether to go forward (with this) or not.” Johnson-Trammell said.
Parents and other community members spoke for and against the proposed mandate at Wednesday’s public hearing. Some complained that the mandate would be an overreach of the school board’s authority while others applauded the step as crucial in protecting the health of students and teachers.
“Why do you want to force the vaccine that is still undergoing vaccine trials,” one speaker asked during the public hearing. “Not you, the CDC or the FDA can make guarantees as to outcomes.”
The Centers for Disease Control and other prominent medical institutions have deemed the vaccines safe and effective in reducing the risk of dying or suffering severe respiratory and other health complications caused by COVID-19.
“We support adding the vaccine for COVID to the list of vaccines already required at schools,” said Dr. Lynne Rosen, a pediatrician. “It will help minimize disruptions for school instruction.”
Davis said the vaccine mandate isn’t meant to be to be punitive but rather “to motivate students” to get vaccinated, as public health experts have advised.
But school board member Mike Hutchinson said he worries about passing a mandate that — if enacted right away — would prevent many students from going to class.
Citing information from the superintendent, the board members said that roughly 34% of African American students and 55% of Latino students have been vaccinated. .
“I’m concerned about passing a mandate that (says) half of Black and Brown students can’t come to school,” Hutchinson said. An online independent study program — which students have opted to enroll in if they can’t or don’t want to return to classes — is already filled with students, he said.
Board President Shanthi Gonzales, who abstained from voting on the plan, agreed.
“My concern is that sending those families a message that they’re not welcome and not allowed to come to school anymore,” Gonzales said, adding that even allowing for a personal belief exemption with a doctor’s note, there would be barriers for students who don’t have regular access to a doctor or limited healthcare.
Hutchinson instead dropping the mandate idea and instead creating an education campaign to encourage students to get vaccinated while the superintendent’s team explores potential plans to implement a future vaccine requirement.
“There is nothing wrong with taking our due time to be deliberate,” he said.
But school board member VanCedric Williams argued that requiring students to be vaccinated would also make it safer for the district’s teachers, 92% of whom are vaccinated. The state recently issued a directive that they must get vaccinated or regularly test for COVID.
“We have still failed them by not having weekly testing,” Williams said. “I think this is a thing we could do, ensuring to all our educators that we are supporting them, providing a working condition that is tolerable. I hear what Director Hutchinson has to say, but I will stand with the folks who have been vaccinated.”
Other school districts also are considering vaccine mandates for students.
West Contra Costa Unified was slated to consider a similar requirement on Tuesday, but school leaders cancelled the meeting to first resolve some technical issues, such as figuring out how the district would provide distance-learning opportunities for students who don’t get vaccined. Berkeley Unified school board members discussed a requirement at their meeting Wednesday night but did not take any action or set a date for doing so.
Implementing the requirement in Oakland could cost an estimated $150,000 to $250,000 for staff to “coordinate vaccination efforts and input data,” according to a memo submitted to the school board. The memo suggests the costs could be covered by state funds.
Update: An earlier version of this story stated Oakland Unified was the first Northern California school district to make COVID-19 vaccines a requirement for students to come to school. Other school districts, including Piedmont and Hayward, passed similar resolutions on Wednesday evening.
