Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Los Angeles Is First Large School District To Require Student Vaccines
Los Angeles Times: L.A. School District Approves Student COVID Vaccine Mandate
All children 12 and older in Los Angeles public schools must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by January to enter campus under an order approved Thursday by the Board of Education, the first such mandate among the nation’s largest school systems and a decision that triggered immediate pushback. The requirement cements the standing of the L.A. Unified School District as an early adopter of COVID-19 school safety measures that are wide-reaching and aggressive. The nation’s second-largest school system has moved faster and more comprehensively than most others in testing all students and employees for coronavirus infection every week, requiring masks indoors and outdoors and ordering employees to get vaccinated. (Blume and Gomez, 9/9)
CNN: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Files Emergency Appeal On School Mask Mandates
Lawyers for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have filed an emergency appeal with the First District Court of Appeals in Florida in hopes of halting school mask mandates while the case goes through the court system. DeSantis' lawyers argue they "have a high likelihood of success on appeal. Therefore, the trial court abused its discretion in vacating the automatic stay, and this Court should reinstate the stay pending review," according to a court document. (Simon, 9/9)
Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky School Mask Mandate To End After Andy Beshear Veto Overridden
Kentucky's school mask mandate is null and void after lawmakers quickly overrode a veto from Gov. Andy Beshear late Thursday night. Beshear vetoed portions of Senate Bill 1 shortly before 11 p.m., hours after lawmakers passed the measure. He was almost immediately overridden by the Senate on a 22-6 vote and by the House on a 69-24 vote. School districts will have five business days to determine their mask policy before the statewide requirement officially ends. (Krauth, 9/9)
CNN: After Two Teachers Died Of Covid-19 In A Week, A Texas School District Implements Mask Mandate
A Texas school district that closed for a week after two junior high school teachers died from Covid-19 within a few days, is now requiring masks inside all of its facilities as the community is seeing surge of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Connally ISD, in McLennan County, shut down all of its campuses on August 31 due to an increase of Covid-19 cases and rising absences by students and staff. (Williams, 9/9)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mandate Requires Milwaukee Public School Staff Be Vaccinated By Nov. 1
Employees of Milwaukee Public Schools must be vaccinated by Nov. 1 unless they qualify for a religious or medical exemption, school board members decided unanimously Thursday night. Students are not being required to get vaccinated, but those who are vaccinated by Nov. 1 will be eligible for $100 monetary incentives — including those who have already been vaccinated. “The more people we can have vaccinated, the better off we will be in controlling and mitigating this virus," Superintendent Keith Posley said. (Linnane, 9/9)
NBC News: Tennessee Teen Talking About Grandma Who Died Of Covid Heckled By Adults At School Board Meeting
A Tennessee teenager who was mocked by adults as he defended masks by explaining his grandmother died of Covid-19 called the moment “complete insanity.” Grady Knox, a junior at Central Magnet School, was mocked and shouted down while speaking at a Rutherford County School Board meeting Tuesday night. A clip of the moment made the rounds of social media, showing adults telling the teenage boy to “shut up” as he gave a personal story to relay his views in favor of mask mandates. (Madani, 9/9)
AP: Loophole Allows Some Pennsylvania Students To Avoid Masking
An apparent loophole in Pennsylvania’s mask mandate for schools is making it easier for some students to go to class without having to cover their faces, even as state education regulators sought to make an example of one openly defiant school board. The state health secretary’s order requiring masks to be worn inside K-12 school and child care facilities, which took effect Tuesday, includes an exemption for students who claim it would cause or worsen a medical condition. (Rubinkam, Scolforo and Levy, 9/10)
