Washington superintendent will request vaccination requirement for K-12 school employees
Last edited Fri Aug 13, 2021, 01:35 PM - Edit history (1)
State Superintendent Chris Reykdal will request that Gov. Inslee require all K-12 school employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.
Reykdal will hold a media briefing to describe his request for executive action from the governor on Friday, Aug. 13, at 9 a.m. MyNorthwest and KIRO Radio will provide updates.
The superintendent also plans to outline the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s intention to withhold state and federal funds from any district who “knowingly and willfully violates the Department of Health’s requirements related to face coverings in K-12 schools.”
In Reykdal’s letter to Inslee, he writes: “I am strongly encouraging you to issue an executive order requiring all employees working in public K–12 schools to get their vaccination against COVID-19 as a condition of employment, consistent with the order you issued on August 9 for state employees and licensed healthcare providers.”
Read his full letter here.
https://mynorthwest.com/3085388/washington-superintendent-will-request-vaccination-requirement-for-k-12-school-employees/
State schools chief urges a vaccine mandate for teachers
OLYMPIA — The leader of Washington’s public schools on Thursday urged Gov. Jay Inslee to require that all public school employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 or face the loss of their jobs.
In a letter, Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal “strongly” encouraged the governor to compel all teachers and staff in public schools to provide proof they have received a COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 18 as a condition of employment — the same mandate Inslee issued earlier this week for state workers and health care providers.
“With the continued increase in cases of COVID-19 across our state due to the highly contagious delta variant, students losing precious time learning in-person with their educators and peers because of quarantine or, potentially, school building closures is a real threat,” he wrote.
Imposing a mandate, Reykdal wrote, “will make our schools safer and reduce the possibility of harmful disruptions in learning.”
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/state-schools-chief-urges-a-vaccine-mandate-for-teachers/