Vaccination Information
The Sonoma County Office of Education has produced two short videos made by the Sonoma County Public Health about the pediatric vaccines, one in English and one in Spanish.
COVID vaccines for children 5-11 years of age with Dr. Brian Prystowsky | Oct. 12
Dr. Brian Prystowsky, Pediatrician at Sutter Health, talks about the pediatric vaccine against COVID-19 for children 5-11. He explains how the pediatric vaccine works, its dosage and side effects.
Introducción a la vacuna contra COVID 19 para niños de 5 a 11 años con la Dra Lucía Agudelo
La Dra. Lucía Agudelo, Residente en Medicina Familiar, con Práctica Médica en Sutter Health Santa Rosa y Santa Rosa Community Health, nos habla sobre la vacuna pediátrica contra COVID-19 para niños de 5 a 11 años. La Dra. Agudelo nos explica cómo funciona la vacuna pediátrica, su dosis y efectos secundarios.
Windsor Unified School District
FAQ on Vaccine Mandates
What is the difference between a law, a rule, a mandate or an order?
Laws, or statutes, at both the federal and state level, are written and passed by a legislature (Congress for federal laws and the state legislature for state laws). These bodies get their authority from the federal and state constitutions, respectively.
Rules, mandates, and orders come from governmental agencies, who have been granted their powers by those same legislative bodies. These three words can be interchangeable, and despite some arguments to the contrary, the consistent legal opinion is that governmental agencies are imbued with the power to pass rules, mandates and orders that carry the same weight as statutes created by legislatures, provided they don’t violate state and federal constitutions and the order falls in the within that agency’s powers and charter.
In other words, the Ag Commissioner can’t pass a human health order, only a health department can do that. Nor can a county government declare that it is seceding from the union. The first violates the charter of the agency, and the second violates the federal constitution.
It is important to note that for most people from an enforcement perspective, there aren't any noticeable differences between a statute, an order, a rule, and a mandate; they are all legal requirements that the government is allowed to write and enforce. Guidelines on the other hand are “strong suggestions” or “best practices.” Not required, but considered the ideal.
What of those is WUSD required to follow?
At WUSD, we are required to follow all statutes, laws, orders, and mandates imposed by federal, state and local governing bodies. We have the choice as to whether or not to implement guidelines. Thus far, we have followed all the laws, orders, and mandates as they have come into effect, including mask wearing indoors, vaccine-or-weekly-testing mandates for staff, and social distancing.
We have also implemented a local guideline for grades TK-5 to have them wear masks at all times except when eating or drinking, and to have assigned seating at lunch and snack for the purposes of contact tracing.
What did the governor announce?
The governor’s newly announced vaccine mandate for all school age students is just that, a mandate, and when it goes into effect, we are legally required to follow it. The governor also gave local authorities the ability to implement ahead of the mandate but at this time WUSD has no plans to do so.
When will the mandate go into effect?
The timeline for implementation is somewhat out of our hands (and frankly, somewhat out of the governor’s hands) because it is dependent on when the vaccines for the different age groups become fully approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA).
Current estimates are that the FDA will give full approval for ages 12-17 in November, making the school term beginning January 1, 2022 the implementation date for that age group. However, if that full approval is delayed, then so will the implementation.
Similarly, while emergency approval for the vaccine for children ages 5-11 is expected shortly, the full approval will likely not happen until March, according to estimates, making implementation of the mandate to that age group occur for the term beginning July 1, 2022.
Update 11-16-21: New information on the timing of the vaccine mandate for school children has been released. Please go here to see the latest.
Actualización 16-11-21: Se ha publicado nueva información sobre el momento del mandato de vacunación para niños en edad escolar. Vaya aquí para ver lo último.
Can’t the District just choose not to require this? Why can’t it make its own decision?
The Windsor Unified School District follows all legal requirements set down by State, County, and Federal legislators. Just as we currently require vaccinations for diseases like measles, mumps and chickenpox, we will follow these legal requirements as well.
What is the penalty to the District for non-compliance?
The state can recoup all of the COVID-related revenue the District has received, approximately $10 million. There is also the possibility of additional fines levied against the District by the state or other agencies for each day of noncompliance. But besides the financial impacts, there is also our duty to keep our community of staff, families and town safe. Vaccines have proven the most effective way to do that.
The Department of Education has also said that school officials who do not adhere to health orders could lose the protection of sovereign immunity. Sovereign immunity protects governmental agencies and bodies from being sued. That protection is granted to local districts by the state. Losing it means administrators and school board members face the possibility of being sued by anyone who may be affected by the attempt to ignore the order, especially if we are found to be negligent.
I don’t want my child vaccinated. Do I have to withdraw from the District?
No. For families who don't want to comply individually with the governor’s order, you have the option to place your student on Independent Study. Your site administrator will be happy to help you understand Independent Study and how to take part. You can also go to our website here to view. There may also be exemptions from vaccination available for individual students.
The exception to this is families with students at Cali Calmécac Language Academy (CCLA), which does not offer long-term, school-based Independent Study. Families who do not wish to comply with the mandate and want to utilize the Independent Study option will have to disenroll from CCLA and enroll in the corresponding District school (for example, a fifth grader may enroll at Brooks) in order to take part in the District’s Independent Study option. Families from outside of the District who attend CCLA will need to apply for an interdistrict transfer permit and be accepted in order to enroll in the grade-appropriate school and in the Independent Study program.