Cincinnati Public Schools became the first major school district in Ohio to require its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 during a board of education meeting Monday evening.
Those who do not receive a vaccine will be subject to weekly COVID-19 testing, according to a revised resolution approved at the meeting. That includes employees who are granted religious or disability exemptions.
The resolution passed 5-0. Board President Carolyn Jones and board member Mike Moroski were not present.
"I think we have to do everything we can to make sure that we don't leave the classroom again," board vice president Ryan Messer said.
There are about 6,500 full- and part-time employees serving 36,000 students in the district, according to its website. It is the third-largest school district in Ohio.
Employers have broad powers to require workers to be vaccinated, according to court decisions and legal experts. A key step for the COVID-19 vaccine came after the Food and Drug Administration gave approval to the Pfizer vaccine last month; the shot previously had emergency use authorization.
Most of the region's colleges and universities announced a vaccine requirement shortly after the Pfizer shot was approved by the FDA, including the University of Cincinnati, Miami University and Xavier University.
But so far, it does not appear any other local K-12 schools are considering a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
President Joe Biden made an announcement Thursday mandating vaccine and testing requirements for large businesses with 100 or more employees, and though the mandate could affect more than 80 million workers across the country, public school teachers were not included. Instead, Biden called on state leaders to implement vaccination requirements for school workers.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said the president "made a mistake" by announcing a mandate. DeWine has said he will not require COVID-19 vaccines in a statewide mandate, though he does encourage eligible Ohioans to get vaccinated.
According to the resolution approved Monday, CPS employees will need to submit proof of vaccination or a request for medical or religious exemption by Oct. 1. Employees will need to submit proof of the second dose of the vaccine, if applicable, by Nov. 1.
The district will host a vaccination clinic on Sept. 25 at Woodward Career Technical High School in Bond Hill and will answer any questions about the mandate through its COVID-19 hotline, officials said.
COVID-19 vaccine requirements: CPS school board to vote on COVID-19 vaccine requirement for staff. Are students next?
Before Monday's meeting ended, board member Moroski, who attended virtually, made an assignment for general counsel to draft a potential vaccination mandate for eligible CPS students, to be presented at the next policy meeting on Sept. 24.
"So we can see what that might look like and what it looks like across the country," Moroski said.
The Los Angeles Unified School District last week became the first in the nation among large school systems to require COVID-19 vaccines for eligible students. All students 12 and older in the district will need proof of vaccination by January in order to participate in in-person classes, the Los Angeles Times reported.
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