San Antonio ISD To Make COVID-19 Vax Mandatory For All Employees

In a move that appears to be the first for a major school district in Texas the San Antonio Independent School District is making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for all school employees.

According to San Antonio Current and News 4 San Antonio all teachers and staff must be inoculated by October 15th.

District Superintendent Pedro Martinez said in a letter to staff members this week that the district administration believed that the best path forward was for the entire staff to be vaccinated.

He also said that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had confirmed that employers can make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory, with certain exceptions.

Those exemptions will be made for religious beliefs and medical reasons.

Superintendent Martinez indicated that about 90% of the San Antonio ISD staff is already fully vaccinated.

His goal with this mandate is to enforce stability in the classrooms and minimize disruptions to academics. He noted that absences to to COVID-19 can cause a significant loss of in-person school days.

Superintendent Martinez also said that the San Antonio ISD is expanding its COVID-19 testing program to help quarantined students return to class after a negative test result.

On Monday District Court Judge Toni Arteaga ruled in favor of Bexar county continuing its school mask mandate even though the Supreme Court recently sided with Governor Abbott's executive order prohibiting such mandate from government agencies or school districts.