Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second-largest school district in the nation, fired 496 employees on Tuesday for not cooperating with the district’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
“Parting ways with individuals who choose not to be vaccinated is an extremely difficult, but necessary decision to ensure the safety of all in our school communities,” interim Superintendent Megan Reilly said in a statement. “We wish everyone the best in their future endeavors and encourage everyone to get vaccinated.”
The school board voted to terminate the unvaccinated employees in a unanimous 7-0 decision. As the Los Angeles Daily News notes, most of those fired were likely on leave since the middle of October, when LAUSD staffers were supposed to have received their first dose. District employees had until a November 15 deadline to take the shot or lose their job.
Per LAUSD, those fired may be eligible to regain employment if they get the vaccine.
Of the 496 employee dismissals, 418 were classified employees who are non-credentialed-but-critical staff that can include positions such as instructional aides, custodians, cafeteria workers and others.
Traci Schroeder, an employee with the district, pleaded with the board before their final vote Tuesday morning not to go through with the firings.
“I’ve got 24 years and I just want to be back on my school site with the students that I love, with the staff that I love, with the school that hired me,” Schroeder said. “On behalf of all the teachers, please reconsider. There is natural immunity. There’s choice. And there’s no need for such extreme measures.”
There are still approximately 34,000 students who have yet to be vaccinated. They have until the start of the spring semester on January 10 to get vaccinated. Students who do not comply by the deadline will be placed into the district’s independent student program or forced to leave the school district entirely.
A statewide policy requiring students to be vaccinated was announced in October but has yet to take effect. AP notes:
LAUSD is one of several large districts in California to adopt their own rules requiring students to get the COVID-19 vaccination, ahead of a statewide policy that will take effect after federal officials fully approve the immunizations by age group. The state policy, announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October, is not expected to go into place before July, but the precise date is still unknown.
Districts including San Diego Unified, Sacramento City Unified, Oakland and West Contra Costa are among those that have deadlines for student vaccine policies scheduled to take effect in early 2022. The policies vary according to district, with some allowing students to opt for weekly testing and others making the shot a requirement for in-person classes.
As The New American reported, the mother of a student at an LAUSD school, Barack Obama Global Prep Academy, claims the school used pizza to bribe her 13-year-old student into receiving two doses of the Pfizer COVID shot without receiving parental consent.
The school allegedly wanted to keep it a secret. “The lady that gave him the shot and signed the paper told my son, ‘Please don’t say anything. I don’t want to get in trouble,’” Maribel Duarte told NBC Los Angeles on Monday.
LAUSD’s Safe Schools to Safe Steps Incentive Program offers rewards to “families who upload proof of their vaccine, have an approved medical exemption, or have conditional admissions.” Per its website, the winners will receive such prizes as tickets to Disneyland, tickets to music concerts and basketball games, Amazon and grocery gift cards, and a cash prize of $25,000.
Vaccine mandates have become a major point of contention in American politics. Senate Republicans on Wednesday, with the help of Democrats Joe Manchin (W.V.) and Jon Tester (Mass.),successfully passed a motion to nix Joe Bidens’ OSHA rule mandating the coronavirus vaccine for large businesses.
The mandate was temporarily blocked in November by the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which called the order “fatally flawed.”
Meanwhile, some states have taken the initiative on their own to halt mandates. Last month, Florida enacted a package of legislation that prevents private-sector workers from being required to get vaccinated against COVID-19 if they provide medical reasons or religious reasons or could demonstrate natural immunity to the virus.
