(Photo: DepositPhotos)
Detroit's school board this Thursday plans a final vote on requiring all district staff members to get Covid shots within the next two months, according to Chalkbeat Detroit. Members had a required first reading Tuesday night and are expected to take the final step during a retreat Thursday..
The Detroit Board of Education’s policy committee OK'd a draft of the mandate [last] Thursday, which specifies a Feb. 18 deadline for district employees to be fully vaccinated. Those who don't comply risk losing their jobs, though there would be exemptions for medical or religious reasons, according to the draft.
District vaccine mandates for staff are rare in Michigan, which had the second-largest number of Covid cases per capita in the country over the last week. ... While local districts have the power to impose their own mandates, few have done so. ... Lansing Public Schools may be the only Michigan district thus far with a vaccine requirement for staff
(Photo: DepositPhotos)
Around 70% of district employees have been vaccinated, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said in October. The district offers a $500 bonus to get the first shot.
The education news site quotes Superintendent Nikolai Vitti as saying vaccines are "the best way to prevent schools from closing and going online." He told parents during a 90-minute "listening session" last week:
"Covid will always be a part of our society. The only way we stop the spread and stop letting it disrupt our lives and teaching and learning is through vaccination."
Terrence Martin, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, tells Chalkbeat:
"A mandate for employees is one thing, but if you really want to start to turn the tide and really get into trying to control this virus, a mandate should include children. ... We all want some continuity of education, but we want to make sure that it is fair."
Vitti told a board committee Friday that the district awaits a response from asked the state attorney general's office about whether it can require student vaccines and Covid tests. Testing is voluntary now, and the superintendent says about 60% of students have turned in consent forms to allow it.
