School & District Management

Calif. School District to Require Vaccines for Eligible Students, in What May Be a First

By Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times — August 19, 2021 4 min read
Image of child being vaccinated
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The Culver City Unified School District has issued a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for all eligible students — believed to be the first such requirement in California — a move the district superintendent said has the overwhelming support of parents, teachers and staff members.

Children 12 and older are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, which remains under emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration. The Culver City requirement has a Nov. 19 deadline, and district officials hope the vaccine will have received full FDA approval by then.

California has ordered all K-12 school employees to be vaccinated or take weekly coronavirus tests — and a growing number of school districts, including Los Angeles Unified, are mandating employee vaccines with no testing option. A spokesperson for the state Department of Education said the office is not aware of any other student vaccine mandate among California’s 1,000 school districts.

Culver City schools Supt. Quoc Tran said the student vaccine mandate was issued after safety protocol discussions with the school board, teacher and employee unions and parents — who agreed that the requirement would help protect their schools as much as possible. The district, which serves 7,100 K-12 students, has 900 employees, who also must be vaccinated. Students go back to school Thursday.

“We felt that doing the minimum is not quite good enough. We could do more,” Tran said, adding that the science and efficacy of the vaccine drove the decision. “We are in the context of constantly crowded places in school settings. The vaccine helps in case our children or staff members contract the virus. They have a lesser chance to be severely impacted.”

If COVID-19 cases have slowed significantly by November, Tran said, the district may reconsider.

“If the pandemic is tapering off at that time, then we will ease off on that requirement,” he said.

About 1 in 20 district parents, Tran estimates, are opposed to the mandate.

But Tran said the opposition does not justify withholding the policy if it can prevent a student or staff member from becoming severely sick.

“It is not a fair trade,” he said. “We’re obligated to provide the best protection to our children and community.”

See Also

Teacher Lizbeth Osuna from Cooper Elementary receives the Moderna vaccine at a CPS vaccination site at Roberto Clemente High School in Chicago, Ill., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021.
Teacher Lizbeth Osuna from Cooper Elementary receives the Moderna vaccine at a Chicago Public Schools vaccination site at Roberto Clemente High School.
Anthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times via AP

California has a number of school vaccine requirements, including polio, diphtheria, tetanus, measles and pertussis, but COVID-19 is not among them at this early stage. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that schools promote COVID-19 vaccinations among staff members, families and eligible students.

The COVID-19 vaccination rate for teens nationwide is lower than it is for adults. According to the CDC, 42.9% of 16- and 17-year-olds are fully vaccinated, as are 32.4% of adolescents ages 12 to 15.

In Los Angeles County, about 72% of residents ages 12 and older — more than 6.3 million — have received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. About 54% of children ages 12 to 15 have received at least one dose of a vaccine, while nearly 64% of 16- and 17-year-olds have received at least their first dose.

Several health experts expressed support for the Culver City move.

“The Culver City school district is very proactive and moving in the correct direction to require vaccination of students who are eligible as another method of protecting those students, as well as other students around them who are not eligible for vaccination,” said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, a professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

Dr. Monica Gandhi, a professor of medicine at UC San Francisco, said that by November, a COVID-19 vaccine should have full FDA approval for adults as well as children ages 12 and older. She said she expects current data showing that the vaccines are safe and effective among adolescents will hold up, supporting the mandate.

“Parents can always request exceptions for prior COVID infection or other medical reasons, but I think the data is very sound to make this mandate at this time,” Gandhi said.

Dr. Ilan Shapiro, a fellow at the American Academy of Pediatrics, said a layered approach to school safety measures — which includes vaccines and masks — is necessary at schools.

Dina Petringa is among the Culver City parents who said they were pleased with the vaccine policy along with other district requirements that include weekly coronavirus testing. Petringa, whose 15-year-old son is already vaccinated, said she is “heartened” to live in a community that is taking the virus seriously.

“I’m thrilled they’re putting a vaccine mandate in Culver City Unified because I don’t think masks are enough,” Petringa said. “I want my son to be in school. He’s missed 18 months of his life, and he’ll never get that back. And I want him to go to school without any anxiety that he could bring back a virus that could kill his parents or his grandparents.”

Erika von Euw got her 12-year-old daughter vaccinated as soon as the vaccine opened up to her age group. Now, with her daughter headed to Culver City Middle School on Thursday, Von Euw said she is grateful for the district’s decision to mandate vaccines for eligible students.

“I feel grateful for what CCUSD did,” she said. “I feel that that’s the best decision.”

Teriah Holten, 17, a senior at Culver City High School, agreed.

“Knowing that people are vaccinated around me will feel more comfortable,” said Holten, who is vaccinated and believes it is in the best interest of students.

“I think it’ll give a lot of students an opportunity to understand that vaccinations are important,” Teriah said. “It’ll be a catalyst.”

Copyright (c) 2021, Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.

Events

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum New Insights Into the Teaching Profession
Join this free virtual event to get exclusive insights from Education Week's State of Teaching project.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Opinion For Principals, Emotional Intelligence Is More Than Just Being ‘Nice’
Emotions are contagious. When leaders struggle, the school environment does, too.
Marc Brackett, James Floman & Robin Stern
5 min read
Juggling emotions control concept, businessman juggling emotions icons and mood control, mindfulness and psychology, techniques and techniques for managing anger
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Opinion How Can Principals Grow the Next Generation of Teachers? Listen to My Student
Here’s what made this high schooler want to become a public school teacher.
S. Kambar Khoshaba & Mina Etemadi
4 min read
Conceptual image of growing the next generation of teachers from students.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
School & District Management How Los Angeles Schools Are Responding to the ICE Raids and Protests
The school year in Los Angeles is ending amid immigration raids, protests, and the activation of National Guard troops and Marines.
4 min read
Los Angeles police officers with batons and riot gear attempt to move back protesters in downtown Los Angeles on June 9, 2025.
Los Angeles police officers with batons and riot gear attempt to move back protesters in downtown Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said the district's police force planned to set up "perimeters of safety" around graduation ceremonies this week amid immigration raids in the city, protests, and the activation of National Guard troops and Marines.
Eric Thayer/AP
School & District Management Download How to Boost Teacher Morale: A Guide for District Leaders (DOWNLOADABLE)
Our discussion guide for district leaders has three takeaways about teachers' attitudes toward their job. Use it to jump start PD with your team.
1 min read
A leader meets with their team. Superintendents, principals, schools leaders, district maps.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva