Montgomery and Prince George’s county schools will require employees to get the coronavirus vaccine or submit to weekly testing for the disease, officials said Friday.
“This is an important step toward shielding our family members, our friends, our neighbors and the students and families we serve,” Monica Goldson, chief executive of Prince George’s County Schools, said in a video announcement.
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Goldson said records show at least 12,000 employees “are already PGCPS Proud to be protected.” Other employees must show proof of vaccination by Aug. 27, or submit to weekly on-site coronavirus tests.
Montgomery County Public Schools, the largest system in Maryland, debuted its vaccination requirement as part of a “2021-2022 Reopening Guide.” The 25-page document also urges eligible students to get the vaccine, and says that more details about vaccines and testing will be shared with teachers and staff closer to the start of the school year.
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Like most school systems in the Washington region, Montgomery and Prince George’s are preparing to offer five days a week of in-person learning to the vast majority of students, after more than a year in which many learned online-only.
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The announcements from Montgomery and Prince George’s come shortly after President Biden said that all federal employees and on-site contractors have to get vaccinated or participate in repeated testing, an order meant to serve as a model for employers nationwide. Almost 60 percent of Americans are at least partially vaccinated, according to The Washington Post’s tracker.
The decisions in Montgomery and Prince George’s also follow similar policies being pursued by officials in the nation’s capital and in nearby Northern Virginia.
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In D.C., Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) announced this week that all city employees and contractors — a category that includes public-school teachers — must be fully vaccinated by Sept. 19 or submit to weekly coronavirus tests. The order does not apply to teachers and staff at D.C.’s charter schools, which are publicly funded and privately operated and which educate almost half of all public school children in the capital.
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Meanwhile in Arlington, an affluent and liberal-leaning county across the Potomac River from D.C., officials said Thursday that all county and public school employees must get a coronavirus vaccine or undergo weekly testing. The order takes effect Aug. 30.
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Arlington is the first school district in Northern Virginia to implement a vaccine mandate, although officials in both Alexandria and Fairfax County said this week they are considering adopting one.
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Across the country in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) also announced a vaccination or test requirement for teachers statewide this week, becoming the first state governor to impose such a policy.
The increasing popularity of vaccine mandates for school employees could open a new front in the ongoing national war over educational issues, a battle that spans cultural, academic and public health concerns. Many parents and politicians, especially in rural and Republican areas, are already upset about mask mandates in schools, which they view as an infringement on their constitutional rights and on parental choice. Some will likely see vaccine mandates as an even greater affront to personal freedom.