Alpine Union to allow in-person learning off campus for unvaccinated students

Alpine Union School District, a small district in San Diego County, has plans to allow unvaccinated students to keep learning in person, with district teachers, but off campus, to get around the state vaccine mandate.

According to The Washington Post, the district’s superintendent, Rich Newman, wrote a letter to parents saying, “This unique program is the first of its kind designed to provide in-person learning to students who would not be able to attend school on campus if not vaccinated.”

“In the midst of a highly politicized environment, it’s my responsibility to serve students who are vaccinated or not vaccinated,” Newman told the newspaper. “I’m working with parents who feel very strongly about this. These kids are young and are caught in an interesting, complex and political time with no choice of their own.”

Some parents applaud the move, while others accuse the district of segregating unvaccinated students from their peers.

Before the state mandated that all students wear masks indoors, the district had planned to allow parents to choose whether their children wore a mask at school.