Sacramento City Unified School District Votes To Make COVID-19 Vaccine Mandatory For All Students, Staff
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The Sacramento City Unified School District is now requiring students 12 and up to get the COVID-19 vaccine sooner than the statewide mandate would take effect.
Students 12 and older and staff will be required to receive their first or second dose by November 30, unless they submit an exemption.
The decision comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the nation's first statewide school mandate that will go into effect once the vaccine gets full approval from the FDA.
Jennifer Jennett's son got the vaccine prior to the district making the decision.
"He did fine, there was no sore arm. There was nothing," said Jennett, whose son is a SCUSD student.
Her son is 12 and although he will be in compliance by the district's second-semester deadline, she feels every parent should have a right to choose.
"I don't think they should require it, but also I don't have a problem with requiring it," she said.
So what will the verification process look like? And will parents whose children have an approved exemption be responsible for getting their students tested?
The district told CBS13 the verification process will be released later this month. And when it comes to testing, it will be done on campus.
Paula Mason has a lot of questions when it comes to the district's new vaccine mandate and says she will not have her daughter vaccinated.
"How are you going to verify that each of these students have their COVID test and it only lasts for so long? You have to continue to get them," she said.
Teachers and staff have until the end of next month to show proof, while eligible students have until the start of second semester in January.
A similar mandate was implemented in Los Angeles where the district there had to extend their deadlines to get people in to compliance.