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Updated December 15

The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education听听to delay its vaccine mandate for students 12 and up until next fall. The district was facing the possibility of transferring 34,000 unvaccinated students into an already understaffed remote learning program called City of Angels.听

Leaders of the district鈥檚 administrators union were concerned about the potential loss of staff if schools lost more students.

Los Angeles Unified students 12 and over may have until next fall to comply with the district鈥檚 vaccine mandate 鈥� roughly nine months after the original Jan. 10 deadline, officials announced Friday.

The first large school system in the nation to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for students, the district is facing roughly 34,000 students who will not be fully vaccinated by the original deadline as well as concerns from parents and administrators over the surge in enrollment in the district鈥檚 remote learning program.

The plan would push thousands more unvaccinated students into an independent study program, which is already struggling to meet at a time when the district, like many others, has major . Under the contract with the union, teachers only provide remote instruction when students are in quarantine. But teachers still have flexibility in how much they interact with students learning at home.

Board members will discuss delaying the deadline at their meeting on Tuesday, when they also plan to ratify the contract of Miami-Dade superintendent Alberto Carvalho to lead the district鈥檚 schools.

Pushing back the deadline will 鈥渉opefully lessen the stress on administrators in terms of the possible number of students they may lose,鈥� said Nery Paiz, president of the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles. 

When the nation鈥檚 second-largest school district announced its mandate three months ago, jumping out in front of vaccine requirement, some predicted it would spark a ripple effect in other districts across the country.  

With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lowering the age for booster shots to 16, the Biden administration and state leaders continue to strongly encourage families to get their children vaccinated. are now considering whether to add COVID-19 vaccines to the list of immunizations needed for school, and many parents and educators say more mandates are inevitable. But at the local level, officials are still up against vaccine resistance 鈥� and sometimes refusal 鈥� among parents.

On Friday morning, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Los Angeles Unified should 鈥渇ine tune鈥� its policy to keep students in the classroom. Unvaccinated students in are facing a similar deadline.

Parent advocates suggest the Los Angeles district might have moved too quickly without a back-up plan.

鈥淲e hope the district anticipated a level of vaccine hesitancy and has drafted plans to protect every child’s right to receive a high-quality education,鈥� Katie Braude, CEO of Los Angeles parent advocacy group Speak UP, said in a statement. She added that the organization is concerned about the virtual program鈥檚 鈥渁bility to expand this quickly to meet the needs of 34,000 more students and the domino effect of teacher displacement on kids remaining in the classroom.”

October from the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that vaccination rates among 12- to 17-year-olds have slowed down, with half of parents saying their child is vaccinated or will be soon. The survey was conducted before the vaccine for 5- to 11-year olds became available , but at the time, less than a third planned to jump at the chance and another third said they would wait to see how it was working. The remaining parents said they definitely would not be getting their children vaccinated.

鈥極utside the scope鈥�

Interim Superintendent Megan Reilly said the district 鈥渁pplauds鈥� the more than 85 percent of students who are in compliance with the mandate. 鈥淭his is a major milestone, and there鈥檚 still more time to get vaccinated,鈥� she said in . 

The L.A. board鈥檚 decision could set up a confrontation with the district鈥檚 powerful teachers union. United Teachers Los Angeles 鈥渕ade the demand [for the mandate] at the bargaining table,鈥� according to its statement in support. 

But the district didn鈥檛 meet their demand. The contract ratified in early October only requires the district to 鈥渕ake every effort鈥� to test unvaccinated students and staff weekly for COVID-19. According to the district鈥檚 statement only unvaccinated students would have to continue weekly testing after January.

Student vaccine mandates are 鈥渙utside the scope of bargaining negotiations and teachers unions know this,鈥� said Bradley Marianno, an assistant education professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. But with 500 Los Angeles Unified for not complying with the employee vaccine mandate, UTLA would likely want the district to 鈥渉old firm鈥� on its deadline for students, he said.

A union spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.

Leslie Finger, an assistant professor of political science at the University of North Texas, said unions have had to perform a delicate balancing act to satisfy their large and diverse memberships.

When it comes to adults, 鈥渢he unions have had to appease both the pro- and anti-vaccine membership, which I think has led the national unions to come out with somewhat tepid endorsements of vaccine mandates,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or students, however, I think unions can be more firmly pro-vaccine mandate because the policy doesn’t require anything of members who oppose getting vaccines themselves.鈥�

Some opponents of student vaccine mandates have launched legal challenges, that shots for younger students still don鈥檛 have full U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for ages 16 and up received full authorization in August. 

But on Wednesday, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge said he is leaning toward denying from parent groups to halt the district鈥檚 mandate. And in against San Diego Unified, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals last week allowed the requirement to stand. The plaintiffs are asking for religious exemptions. 

Let Them Choose, an initiative of anti-mask mandate group Let Them Breathe, has also filed against San Diego. A hearing is set Dec. 20 in San Diego Superior Court. And the organization plans to file a lawsuit against a Los Angeles that issued its own vaccine mandate, said Sharon McKeeman, the organization鈥檚 founder. 

鈥淣o family should be coerced into making personal medical decisions, and no student should feel enticed or pressured into getting vaccinated without parental consent,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he district has created a huge logistical and legal issue for itself by unnecessarily trampling on students鈥� rights.鈥�

鈥楻elentless family engagement鈥�

Mike Magee, CEO of Chiefs for Change, said he didn鈥檛 think the challenges Los Angeles is facing would discourage other superintendents in the network from 鈥減ursuing every possible avenue to full community vaccination.鈥�

鈥淲hether districts require the vaccine or not, high vaccination rates will depend on a relentless family engagement effort along with simplicity of access to the shot,鈥� he said.

Alma Farias of Los Angeles, who has custody of her niece Cindy, an 11th grader, said she is among those who had initial reservations about the vaccine. But her concerns were outweighed by the prospect of Cindy getting sick after returning to in-person learning last spring.

She said she can sympathize with parents who are holding out. 

鈥淭here are a lot of things probably going through their minds right now,鈥� she said in Spanish through an interpreter. 鈥淧arents are still processing all the information that is out there, and they鈥檙e still processing everything that is going on with this pandemic.鈥� 

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez is among those who would like to see vaccine mandates for students and said he鈥檚 talked to the Chicago Teachers Union about it. But he said he鈥檚 not quite ready to issue a mandate for students because Chicago health officials advise waiting. 

Once the FDA grants full approval of the vaccine for younger students, that will 鈥渉elp our medical professionals feel more comfortable,鈥� he said.

But he also thinks the federal government should take the lead on student vaccination mandates. Leaving it up to states, he said, means variants like Omicron are likely to spread, as long as families travel to places where a smaller percentage of the population is vaccinated.

The district has been under pressure from its teachers union  to implement 鈥� across our schools鈥� and to meet vaccination targets for students. But Martinez said access to the vaccine is not the problem: Regional clinics across the city offer the vaccine and 23 schools have on-site vaccination centers. 

鈥淲e鈥檝e never had a day where we didn鈥檛 have enough supply,鈥� he said.

According to city data, two thirds of children 5 and up are vaccinated, but among 5- to 11-year-olds, less than 10 percent of Black children and about 12 percent of Latino children are vaccinated. 

鈥淧arents are either hesitant or there鈥檚 no urgency,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e still have to figure out what information our parents need.鈥�

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