Once the vaccines have received full approval from the U.S. government, students will be required to receive the vaccine in order to attend school in person.
Students who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine under California’s proposed vaccination mandate for schoolchildren will be required to complete an independent study course at home. Governor Gavin Newsom announced the first coronavirus vaccine mandate on Friday for students in elementary through high school once the vaccines have final approval from the U.S. government for ages 12 to 15. Once the approval has passed, students will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, with a few exemptions. Religious and medical exemptions would be granted, but the state has yet to determine rules for how the exemptions would be applied. Students who aren’t granted an exemption but still refuse to get the vaccine will be forced to complete the independent study course at home, rather than attending physical school. For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below. The government has fully approved the COVID-19 vaccine for those 16 and over but only granted an emergency authorization for anyone 12 to 15. Once federal regulators fully approve it for that group, the state will require students in seventh through 12th grades to get vaccinated in both public and private schools. Newsom said he expects that requirement to be in place by July 1.
