Gov. Newsom Expected To Lay Out Blueprint For Keeping Schools Open, Students Safe Monday
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - The governor is expected to decide whether the state will end its school mask mandate.
As part of the state's endemic plan, education is a top priority.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to lay out a blueprint on how to keep schools open and students safe Monday. It follows a lift on masking for most indoor settings for vaccinated people earlier this month.
Ahead of the announcement, districts like Roseville Joint Union High School already made masks optional while the Nevada Union Joint High School District board lifted masking but faced backlash when several teachers called in sick, forcing a closure for the day.
At McKinley Park in Sacramento, families spent Sunday afternoon questioning a looming deadline. Monday is also the date when staff and students at Sac City Unified School District must be vaccinated.
"The main concern is just if kids are getting vaccinated or not and if they're going to pull all these kids out of school," said Adrianna Jones, a mother to a toddler but has family members attending Sac City schools.
The district's dashboard shows nearly 36 percent of its students are not vaccinated or have not reported. As for staff, around 5 percent are not vaccinated.
A district spokesperson tells CBS13 it's trying to reach unvaccinated students, but is now shifting towards registering them for testing regularly. Around 2,500 are required to do so but haven't consented.
Malaysia Geddes, 12, says she recently decided to get vaccinated after losing loved ones to COVID and at her grandmother's request.
Because of the loss, she's concerned about going to school.
"If I get it, they all get it," Geddes said.
Still, some parents say they're vaccine-hesitant.
Celeste Winston's son is not 12, but even if he was, his mother says he wouldn't get the shot.
"I do get each kid is different but it's just something I'm choosing and I'm OK with not vaccinating him right now," Winston said.
If teachers and staff miss Monday's deadline, the district says immediate action won't be taken until a board meeting on Thursday.