The Clarke County Board of Education is poised to discuss a mandatory vaccination policy for employees at its work session on Thursday. But, don't expect the policy to get a final vote from the Board for at least a month.
The draft of the proposed policy would require all district staff to prove that they have received a COVID-19 vaccination, calling the vaccination, "a critical health and safety precaution against COVID-19." Exceptions for medical and religious reasons are allowed in the draft policy and will be handled by the district's Human Relations department.
Unvaccinated employees would receive two days of paid leave to get the COVID-19 vaccination. Part time employees who are unvaccinated would get at least 4 hours of paid leave.
Board of Education members are set to discuss the policy proposal at their Thursday work session, and once they agree on the wording of the policy, it will be open for public comment for four weeks before the Board can vote on it.
COVID-19 cases in the district have waned since the school year began. The CCSD reported 503 cases in August and 307 in September. As of midday Tuesday, just 15 cases have been reported in October. Less than 1 percent of students and staff are currently in quarantine.
