Parents organized to keep their children home from school Monday to oppose Gov. Gavin Newsom's COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Parents who oppose Gov. Gavin Newsom's vaccine and mask mandates for schoolchildren are organizing a statewide school walkout for Monday.
School districts and families across California are making plans to deal with the peaceful protest.
The protest is the latest move by parents and voters dissatisfied with both on-campus mask-wearing and vaccine mandates in California schools.
Here are five things you need to know about the upcoming California school walkouts.
1. The statewide walkout (also called a "sit out" on social media flyers) encourages California parents to keep their children home Monday. The flyer asked parents not to call their child in sick or otherwise excuse the absence to keep schools from reaping average daily attendance funds from the state.
2. The walkout affects elementary, middle and high schools. The walkout also calls upon California teachers and other district employees to stay home from work Monday. "Parents and concerned citizens all over CA are taking action against the forced COVID-19 vaccine mandate for our children in state schools. We demand parental choice over the bodily autonomy of our children," one Twitter flyer said.
3. The protest is a response to Newsom's state mandate Friday in which he made California the first state in the nation to require all children attending in-person instruction at every school to get vaccinated against COVID-19. California residents could see the enforcement of this mandate as early as January. Since the Food and Drug Administration has not authorized COVID-19 vaccines for children under 12, it will affect students in grades seven through 12 to start. Any student who refuses to take the vaccine will be forced to complete an independent study program at home, officials said.
4. California will also require teachers to be vaccinated or tested weekly, effective Friday. Some educators against the mandate will participate in Monday's walkout, forcing some campuses —including Oak Run Elementary in Shasta County — to close, CalMatters reported Friday. Los Angeles Unified School District, one of the state's largest, vowed to prohibit teachers from returning to classrooms on Monday if they do not receive at least one vaccine dose by Friday.
5. Across California, 50,896,327 vaccine doses have been administered, and 71.7 percent of Californians are fully vaccinated, CalMatters reported. As of Wednesday, California had 4,565,279 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (up 0.1 percent from Tuesday), and 70,010 COVID-19 related deaths (up 0.2 percent from Tuesday), the report said.
