Los Angeles school district expected to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for students

The Los Angeles Board of Education is expected to approve a proposal Thursday that would require all students 12 and older to be vaccinated by January.

The measure, which is up before the board Thursday afternoon, would mandate eligible students to receive their first dose by Nov. 21 and their second by Dec. 19.

Those participating in extracurricular activities, like sports and clubs, would have to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 31.

Until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lowers the vaccination age, younger students would have to get their first shot within 30 days of their 12th birthday and their second shot within eight weeks.

“COVID-19 continues to pose a material threat to the health and safety of all students within the (Los Angeles Unified District) community despite the implementation of layered mitigation measures, including, but not limited to, COVID-19 testing and masking,” the proposal reads.

“The surge of the Delta variant and community transmission of COVID-19, including among school age children, has proven to be disruptive to full-time, in-person instruction and student learning.”

The Los Angeles school district is the second largest in the state, with about 600,000 students in its care.

According to the Los Angeles Department of Health, about 63% of residents between the ages of 12 and 17 have received at least one dose.

At least 1,620 active Covid-19 cases had been identified at LA schools as of Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles Times’ tracker, although only five were linked to on-campus transmissions.

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