COVID-19 Vaccine Mandated For Teachers, Staff In District 65

EVANSTON, IL — The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 school board voted unanimously Monday to make coronavirus vaccinations mandatory for all employees.

All staff and anyone physically working in district buildings must submit proof of full vaccination by Oct. 15, according to the new policy, a first among suburban elementary school districts in the Chicago area.

Anyone who has not must be tested at least once a week until then, or until they provide proof of vaccination.

Employees would have until Sept. 15 to request an exemption. They must submit to the superintendent documentation "showing a medical justification for being exempt from the vaccine requirement or a sincerely held religious belief that prohibits vaccination."

Staff that receive such a medical or religious exemption must submit to weekly COVID-19 testing for the rest of the school year.

Those that do not have an approved exemption by Oct. 31 will not be allowed to work and will not be paid until they provide proof of full vaccination or are determined to be exempt. They may also be subject to disciplinary action, according to the resolution.

Superintendent Devon Horton said the policy also applies to all after-school program providers.

"Everyone — if you're going to come in our campus at any point — we're going to require vaccination or the exemptions," Horton said Monday ahead of the vote. "And be subjected to weekly COVID testing."

District officials last week said they are accepting voluntary submission of vaccine cards from students and were in the midst of negotiations with employee unions about a vaccine mandate.

"We are currently [discussing], and we will continue to discuss next week, overall required staff vaccinations. More information to come," Horton said at an Aug. 16 webinar. "We have to talk with all of our bargaining units and get some clarity around what this means, and timeline. But this is new, in response to what's happening with the delta variant."

Administrators do not yet know how many staff are vaccinated, a district spokesperson told Patch after the webinar.

Horton was asked Monday if administrators had any data based on voluntary disclosure.

"We don't have a sense now, but we will be able to do after [Oct. 15]," Horton told the board.

Vaccine mandates have been announced for teachers in Chicago, California and New York City.

The District 65 mandate comes the same day as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

It is the first vaccine to be fully approved by federal regulators, who had previously granted emergency use authorization to the Pfizer vaccine, along with those produced by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

According to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago, 59 percent of Americans support vaccination mandates for teachers and 55 percent are in favor of mandating vaccines for students aged 12 and older.

Parents were less likely to tell pollsters they support the mandate, though, with just 42 percent favoring mandatory vaccinations for students.

Related: Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Gets Full Approval From U.S. Regulators

District 65 and the city of Evanston are hosting a Pfizer vaccine clinic at the district's headquarters, 1500 McDaniel Ave., from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 28, with a second dose scheduled Sept. 18.

The vaccines are available to all students, staff, families and residents aged 12 and up, and are free regardless of immigration or insurance status. Those under 18 must be accompanied by a legal guardian. Registration is available online.

District officials are also strongly recommending COVID-19 testing for students, starting Sept. 13. Although the testing is optional, families must opt their child out.

"Given that the majority of our students are still ineligible for vaccination, testing will provide an additional layer of protection by helping to proactively identify and isolate positive cases," Horton said Thursday in a message to the community.

"We believe that participation, especially by unvaccinated individuals, will help maximize the safety of our school communities and maintain the continuity of in-person instruction with less disruption for students, families, and educators," he added.

Related: Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccinations For Chicago Public Schools Staff

The board also voted to approve a resolution declaring its intent to issue $1.3 million in working cash bonds.

If at least 10 percent of registered voters in the district — 5,937 people — file a petition within 30 days requesting a referendum, then the bonds will be on the ballot on the June 2022 primary. If not, the bonds can be issued.

The first item on the agenda for Monday's meeting was a closed-door discussion about collective bargaining negotiations, specific employees and litigation.