This story was updated Friday, Aug. 20 at 10:15 a.m.
The Alexandria City Public Schools system has adopted a vaccine mandate for all ACPS staff to help ensure the health and well-being of students and the larger community.
ACPS school board members decided Thursday evening, during a specially-called meeting, that all ACPS staff will either need to confirm that they are fully vaccinated, confirm they are in the process of getting vaccination, or agree to submit to weekly testing.
A mandatory survey will go to all ACPS teachers and staff Friday, Aug. 20 and will need to be completed by Monday, Aug. 23 regarding individual vaccination status. Personal health information will not be released to the public.
There was no mention during the meeting of whether ACPS would be confirming whether staff receives recommended booster shots later this fall.
Friday morning, Fairfax County Public Schools announced a similar measure, with testing or vaccination proof required by October.
"We don't want to go back to all virtual," said Alexandria School Board Member Chris Suarez, who kicked off a lengthy discussion about when testing should start. He argued that testing to start much sooner than originally proposed for unvaccinated staff, considering there are multiple testing options available throughout the region. At the end of the night, the mandate still lacked clarity on when testing or required vaccine documentation would start.
In addition, students, staff and all community members will be required to wear a mask inside school buildings and on ACPS transportation, regardless of vaccination status. Parents are also asked to fill out a daily online health screening, students will have their temperature taken before entering school each morning, and the number of visitors in school facilities will be limited. While temperature screenings are just a point-in-time check and not all COVID-19 patients have fevers, the mask policy and other factors .
Other school districts, including Fairfax County Public Schools, have adopted similar measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and its delta variant.
Although some have criticized temperature screenings as "theater," there have been instances where ACPS staff members have come to work not realizing they had a fever, according to health officials who spoke during the ACPS meeting.
ACPS has been having conversations with Virginia state officials regarding student testing for COVID-19, vaccination rates and whether minors can be tested at school. "Nothing has been solidified at this point," Superintendent Dr. Gregory Hutchings, Jr. said during Thursday's meeting.
The City of Alexandria is now an area of “high spread” for COVID-19, with case rates similar to those seen back in February. The spread of COVID-19 is primarily among those who are not vaccinated, though a few “breakthrough” cases off COVID-19 have been reported among those who are fully vaccinated. Fairfax County is in an area of "significant spread."
Most school-aged children who are eligible for a vaccine in Alexandria are vaccinated. According to data from the City of Alexandria, more than 85% than of 12- to 18-year-old residents are vaccinated. Nationwide, children under the age of 12 are not yet eligible for a vaccine outside of medical trials.
The Fairfax Education Association announced Thursday that it does support a vaccine mandate for all FCPS employees. FEA represents thousands of FCPS teachers, educational specialists, transportation employees and other FCPS staff members.
"The main goal of all of this is to protect the health and safety of all students and staff, and our community in general," said FEA President Kimberly Adams.
In Fairfax County, 75.3% of 12- to 15-year-old residents are vaccinated, and 84.8% of 16- and 17-year-old residents are vaccinated.
"The National Education Association (NEA) and Virginia Education Association (VEA) have voiced support for mandatory vaccination of school employees across the nation and our Commonwealth," Adams explained. "The FEA has supported vaccination for all those who are eligible, and we look forward to young students being eligible in the coming weeks. We believe that vaccination refusal for medical, religious, or personal reasons is acceptable and that weekly testing should be required for all who remain unvaccinated."
It takes about least two weeks after the final dose of a vaccine for a person to be considered fully vaccinated.
