LAUSD Vaccine Mandate: Infringing on Rights or Necessary?
On Sept. 9, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) voted to mandate the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine for all students 12 years and older, with the vaccination process required to start by Nov. 21 and be completed by Dec. 19 (Cable News Network). According to the New York Times, 3,000 students in LAUSD tested positive for COVID-19 with an additional 3,500 required to quarantine after being exposed to the virus at the start of the school year. As of Sept. 22, the Los Angeles Times reported that there were 1,158 active cases detected from LAUSD’s weekly testing of students and teachers. Based on this data, LAUSD found the vaccine mandate to be necessary because it prioritizes keeping students and teachers healthy. As the nation’s second largest school district, this new vaccine mandate is pivotal for the health and safety of the 600,000 students the district serves. For smaller school districts like Palos Verdes Unified Peninsula School District (PVPUSD), the vaccine mandate should also be considered amongst school administrators in the hopes of providing students with a sense of normalcy. By getting vaccinated, students are fulfilling their civic responsibility and helping the world get past the pandemic.
“I have family members that are at risk [for COVID-19],” sophomore Chloe Sohngen said. “It is kind of scary being at school with some people that are not vaccinated. I am hoping that PVPUSD will also mandate vaccines.”
Furthermore, parents opposed to vaccinations are not required to send their children to in-person school. PVPUSD offers an independent study program (I.S.) that only requires those in grades nine through twelve to meet with the classroom teacher once a week for 60 minutes per session. This option allows students to stay unvaccinated if they do not want to comply with the mandate. While it is clear that the vaccine mandate is imperative to the health and safety of students, some still feel that it may not be the best decision moving forward from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“[The vaccine mandate] is a wise step, [but] I do not know if it is a necessary step,” Spanish 2 and French 2 teacher Jazz Thompson said. “It should be up to the freedom of the parents because some parents do not vaccinate their children at all.”
Parents who are not in favor of vaccinating their children may disagree with LAUSD, but the belief that it should be up to the freedom of the parents is outdated and wrong. According to the New York Times, unvaccinated people in Los Angeles (LA) County are at a high risk for COVID-19 due to high rates of virus transmission. With schools deciding to be in-person this year, they have to take into account the potential severity and danger of unvaccinated students. If they want to send their children to school in-person this year, parents should realize vaccinating their children is necessary as well.
“You are choosing to send your kids [to school],” sophomore Kayla Law said. “If you really did not want them to be vaccinated, you could homeschool them. You have options.”
This mandate takes into account the safety of those who are attending school in-person. Due to this, mandating vaccines like the COVID-19 vaccine is crucial to the health and safety of students. This mandate is a sign of promise; it is clear that if all students start to get vaccinated, people can move forward from this time and save children from COVID-19. By complying with the rule, students are fulfilling their civic responsibility and helping the world move past the pandemic. The benefits of a districtwide vaccine are obvious, and if PVPUSD decides to follow in LAUSD’s footsteps, the world is one step closer to getting past this pandemic.
