LAUSD dismissed around 500 people from their jobs as they failed to comply with its coronavirus vaccination rules. It has about 73,000 staffers. Before their terminations, it put many of those workers on unpaid leaves after they failed to meet the deadline for vaccination.
Interim Superintendent of LAUSD Megan Reilly regarded getting the workers fired as a very difficult yet important decision. As for Reilly, it was a necessary choice to ensure that everyone in LAUSD school communities is safe. Reilly sent her best wishes to everyone who got fired and told them to be vaccinated against coronavirus.
Earlier this year, LAUSD set the vaccination ordinance for its employees. It is a separate ordinance from Los Angeles City, County or California’s vaccination mandates.
In August 2021, UTLA, the teachers’ union in Los Angeles, did not show any support for this mandate of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Cecily Myart-Cruz, the President of United Teachers Los Angeles, stated that her family continues to undergo the same anguish and uncertainty as several other families. Cruz is the mother of a fifth-grade student at a school that comes under the Los Angeles Unified School District. LAUSD is dealing with the process of students coming back to school.
As for Cruz, LAUSD has one of the strictest safety protocols for coronavirus in the United States of America. LAUSD families and UTLA educators advocated for and got those protocols in place. Cruz stated that the coronavirus Delta strain is different from other variants of the virus, particularly in terms of its effect on children. Therefore, she encouraged everyone at LAUSD to come forward and do their bit to keep the vulnerable community safe.
Up to 85% of LAUSD students have received full vaccination against coronavirus disease.
