School, Child Care Staff In DC Get Nov. 1 Covid Vaccine Deadline

The Washington Post: D.C. School, Childcare Workers Must Get Covid Vaccine, No Test Option 
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said Monday that all teachers and school staff and early child-care workers in the District must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Nov. 1, eliminating a testing option for these professionals who regularly interact with children who are often too young to be vaccinated. The mayor’s initial vaccine requirement — which included a testing option — did not apply to public charter or private school workers nor day-care employees. But this stricter mandate applies to these nongovernment employees. (Stein, 9/20)

The New York Times: N.Y.C. Schools' Covid Strategy: Test More, But Keep Classrooms Open 
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday that New York City would take two new steps to address fears over the full reopening of schools: require weekly coronavirus testing of unvaccinated students and relax quarantine rules to keep more students in classrooms. But the mayor resisted calls for a vaccine mandate for students, even as Pfizer-BioNTech moved toward offering the vaccine to children from 5 to 11 years old. (Fitzsimmons, 9/20)

In other K-12 school news —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Atlanta-Area School Districts Report A Sharp Decline In COVID Cases
Overall, since the start of school last month, districts recorded nearly 32,000 COVID-19 cases. Some school systems across Georgia took more aggressive action than the state and many local governments to arrest the spread of the virus as COVID-19 cases soared last month. The measures included enacting mask mandates or switching to virtual instruction amid a crush of new infections among students and staff. Amber Schmidtke, a public health researcher who tracks Georgia’s COVID-19 trends, said the stronger actions taken by school systems and by parents may be behind improving case rates among children. (Hogan and Scott Trubey, 9/21)

The Aegis: More Than 1,100 Harford County Students Quarantining Or Isolating Because Of COVID Concerns
More than 1,100 Harford County students are missing school either because they have contracted COVID-19, are experiencing symptoms of the virus or have been exposed to it, according to data reported Monday on the school system’s coronavirus dashboard. According to Harford County Public Schools’ COVID dashboard, 158 students had tested positive for the coronavirus — either through a PCR or rapid test. Of the students who tested positive, only five were vaccinated. (Whitlow, 9/20)

Indianapolis Star: Nearly 500 Schools Not Reporting COVID-19 Cases To Indiana Dashboard
An error on the state's COVID-19 dashboard for schools has been fixed, giving a clearer picture of how many schools have yet to meet the state's reporting requirement. As of Monday's update, 477 schools have yet to comply with the mandate that requires schools to participate in the dashboard this year. Last school year, participation in the dashboard was encouraged but not required by the Indiana Department of Health. An error in the dashboard had been labeling some schools reporting zero cases as "not reporting." The state says that the error has been fixed. The dashboard now shows 71 schools reporting zero cases and 1,820 schools reporting at least one case. State health officials did not immediately respond to questions about how many schools were mislabeled. (Herron, 9/20)

AP: Court Order Sought To End Mask Mandate In Vegas-Area Schools
Parents of students in the Las Vegas area who filed a lawsuit last month challenging Nevada’s COVID-19 mask mandates asked a federal judge on Monday to issue an emergency order allowing children to attend school without masks. The lawsuit filed against Gov. Steve Sisolak, Attorney General Aaron Ford and the Clark County School District says the district’s current policy requiring masks in schools regardless of vaccination status is causing psychological distress and emotional harm to students who must wear them. (9/21)

The Washington Post: Newberg, Ore., School Worker Suspended For Blackface Protest Of Vaccine Mandate 
A staff member at an elementary school in suburban Portland, Ore., has been suspended after reporting for work in blackface last week, in an apparent protest against the school district’s vaccine mandate for employees. The woman showed up dressed as Rosa Parks with her face darkened with dye to protest a vaccination mandate for all public school employees in Oregon, the Newberg Graphic newspaper reported. (Pannett, 9/21)

In higher-education news —

Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi Colleges And Universities Banned From Issuing COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
Mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for students and staff are off the table at Mississippi public colleges and universities, except for in clinical settings. Mississippi Institutes of Higher Learning Communications Director Caron Blanton said Monday the Friday ruling by the IHL is meant to clear up any confusion resulting from its August directive about COVID-19 vaccinations. At the time, colleges and universities were asked to hold off on forming any COVID-19 campus vaccine policies, but it was not clear if vaccination mandates were banned. Blanton said vaccination mandates are now prohibited, with one exception. (Rowe, 9/20)

The Baltimore Sun: Students, Worker Allege University System Of Maryland Vaccine Mandate Violates Their Rights 
Two students and an employee are challenging the University System of Maryland’s coronavirus vaccine requirement in federal court, saying it violates their rights. All three plaintiffs — a pair of Towson University students and a University of Maryland Carey School of Law employee — say they received religious exemptions from the vaccine requirement. But they claim in a lawsuit that they felt coerced to do so. (Wood, 9/20)