Deadline Day: How Will SCUSD Vaccinate Thousands Of Students By January?
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Tuesday is the deadline for families to report their vaccination status to the Sacramento City Unified School District.
Now there's a concern with how the district would staff thousands who may wind up in independent study.
"I'm kind of on the fence about it still," said Rachel Espinoza, a mom with kids in the district. "I did schedule them an appointment for this Saturday because they're making us do it."
She's one of many parents who have yet to report her kids' vaccination status to the district.
On Tuesday, all eyes were on Sacramento City Unified, the only district in the region putting a mandate in place before the state requirement.
More than 19,000 students fall under the district's mandate, but as of Tuesday, just over 25 percent of students have reported being at least partially vaccinated.
So far, the teacher's union says about 90 percent of teachers have been vaccinated.
This now leaves the district about two months to make sure almost 15,000 more people get vaccinated.
Those who don't get the shot or have an exemption will be enrolled in an independent study program on January 31.
"We're going to really work to enlist our school site leaders and community partners to help us and we're going to strive to meet that," said Victoria Flores, with the district.
She says the district planned the rollout this way to give the community flexible deadlines.
"We're hoping those numbers will really even out or balance out," she said.
But if more students end up in independent study, it's likely staffing will be an issue.
The district and state are seeing extreme staffing shortages.
It's a concern for the teachers union, which is worried about the rollout and how many may wind up back in virtual learning.
"We think it's really important the district work with the educators to solve the staffing crisis," said David Fisher, with the teacher's union.
The state Board of Education and SCUSD Superintendent Tony Thurmond's office says they're watching this district's rollout, saying, in part:
"Thurmond will work with school leaders to make sure that schools understand how the mandate will work, and will filter feedback from school leaders to state health officials to help make the rollout as smooth as possible."