San Jose Unified to require staff to be vaccinated or tested twice weekly for Covid

Following the lead of Gov. Gavin Newsom for state employees, San Jose Unified announced Wednesday all staff must be vaccinated for Covid-19 for the return to school next month, or agree to be tested twice weekly.

San Jose Unified will also mandate that students and staff wear masks not only inside of school buildings, as required under current state public health regulations, but also outside on school grounds.

At Los Angeles Unified, the largest school district in the state, students and employees who have not received a Covid-19 vaccine will be required to test for the coronavirus on a weekly basis during the school year until further notice. Fully vaccinated students and employees will not be required to undergo Covid-19 testing. Both testing and vaccination sites will remain available for L.A. Unified students, employees, and their families, according to a district reference guide for families.

“With that being said, we are in constant communication, with the Department of Public Health,” said Dr. Smita Malhotra, the district’s medical director. “And as things change, as certain policies change, we will be updating our students and staff and families accordingly. Again, it’s a fluid situation but unvaccinated students and employees will be tested weekly.” Regardless of vaccination status, everyone on school grounds will be required to wear a mask at all times except when eating.

On Monday, Newsom announced that health care workers and state employees must prove they have been vaccinated or undergo weekly testing, starting in August. On Tuesday, California State University Chancellor Joseph Castro announced the same policy for students, faculty and other employees of the 23-campus system.

San Jose Unified spokeswoman Jennifer Maddox told the Mercury News that 90% of the district’s teachers have been vaccinated. The district chose twice weekly surveillance testing to enable quarantining for those who test positive as quickly as possible. Surveillance tests will be available but not required for students, she said.

She said the district hopes the new policy will encourage others to agree to vaccinations.