Parents, fired teachers protest vaccine mandate at Granada Hills school
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - More than a dozen parents and former teachers rallied against the COVID-19 vaccine mandate imposed by Granada Hills Charter school officials.
"Granada Hills Charter is an independent charter school. We have our own governing board which made the decision to approve the policy that LAUSD had already implemented. They could have said ‘no,’" said Angela Karapetyan.
Karapetyan is one of seven staff members at the charter school who were fired for refusing to comply with the school's vaccine mandate. The Granada Hills Charter School Board of Directors voted to terminate the employees on Oct. 27, with some vowing to pursue legal action.
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Karapetyan is now protesting for students 12 and older who face a deadline to get their first COVID-19 vaccine shot by Sunday.
"For this vaccine to be around for such a short period of time and to force these into our children’s bodies, I’m just not comfortable with that," said Karapetyan, who also has two children enrolled in the elementary school.
"Right now, I’m just seeing whatever door is open for me. It seems like right now I’m only given the choice to fight back," former Granada Hills High School teacher Setiawatin Beckman added.
"I think this is just so wrong on all different levels and for people to not realize that people should have the choice is wrong," said Beckman.
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The Los Angeles Unified School District requires students 12 and older to be fully vaccinated by the start of the winter semester on Jan. 11. District officials are only strongly encouraging and not requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for younger students.
Granada Hills Charter parents who did not participate in the protest fell on both sides of the vaccine mandate.
"I believe in parents making a lot of decisions, but in this case, there are some things you cannot question. We wear seatbelts because they are mandatory and I think the vaccine should be," said Granada Hills parent Judy Caylor.
"I think they should have their own choice. We should do what we feel is right for our own family," said parent Charlie Nahm.
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