Teachers union wants LAUSD to require vaccination for eligible students

United Teachers Los Angeles is calling for the Los Angeles Unified School District to put together a vaccine mandate for eligible students.

According to a press release obtained by FOX 11, UTLA – the teachers union – wants eligible students ages 12 and older to be required to take the coronavirus vaccine. The teachers union's push for a vaccine mandate comes just days after the Pfizer vaccine got the FDA's full approval. 

"This aligns with UTLA support for the educator vaccine mandate implemented by LAUSD and will keep our schools safer as well as positively contributing to the higher community vaccination rates needed to reverse the surge in infections," the UTLA's press release read, in part.

If approved by LAUSD, the school district would join Culver City Unified as school districts in our area enforcing vaccine mandates for eligible students. Culver City Unified announced mid-August that eligible students and teachers have until November 19 to provide proof of vaccination. 

RELATED: Culver City Unified to require students 12 and up get vaccinated

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In addition to pushing for a vaccine mandate, UTLA is also asking for using a classroom camera for students to us Zoom for during in-person instruction or meeting with quarantined students during office hours, the press release read, in part.

"Our bargaining team is bringing proposals to the table with educators and LAUSD families in mind," UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz said in a press release. "Families who have had their lives upended by their child having to quarantine do not need a cookie-cutter mandate — they need understanding, flexibility, and options. One-size-fits-all solutions do not work in this prolonged public health crisis."

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