Virginia’s largest school district will require its employees to receive a coronavirus vaccine or submit to repeated testing, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand announced Friday, although offering few details about how this will work.
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Brabrand wrote in a message to families Friday that the vaccination requirement, which will affect the system’s more than 24,600 employees, will go into effect in October. Additional details will be rolled out in the coming weeks, he said.
Brabrand asserted the vaccine mandate will strengthen Fairfax’s other infection prevention measures, which include masking for all students and staff regardless of vaccination status. Like most school systems in the Washington region, Fairfax is preparing to offer five days a week of in-person instruction to the vast majority of its 180,000 students this fall. School is slated to start Monday.
More schools in the Washington region will mandate masks in the fall
“We are confident that, combined with our continued commitment to layered prevention strategies, our school buildings will remain safe and healthy,” Brabrand wrote in his message to families. “Thank you for working with us to start the school year strong.”
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Fairfax is one of the last school systems in the D.C. area to announce a vaccine or testing requirement for employees, following in the footsteps of a slew of districts in the nation’s capital, Maryland and Virginia.
In Northern Virginia, Arlington Public Schools adopted a vaccine mandate last week. And late Thursday night, neighboring Alexandria City Public Schools voted to require the vaccine or weekly testing for its employees, although uncertainty remains over when the testing will begin.
Following Fairfax’s announcement, Loudoun County Public Schools is the only major school division in Northern Virginia that has yet to require the vaccine.