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Elected members of the Kootenay-Columbia school board – School District 20 (SD20) – announced Monday that they were reviewing vaccination policies for staff.
“School District 20 has worked diligently over the past 20 months following the advice of the provincial and regional health unit and the Department of Education, to ensure a safe learning environment for our staff and students. “the council said in a November statement. 8 press release.
“We continue to follow the provincial plan to fight communicable diseases COVID-19 for kindergarten to grade 12 establishments and any other provincial and regional health order applicable to schools. The safety of students, staff and our school communities continues to be our priority. “
The board said it received the K-12 sector guidelines for immunization policies on Oct. 22, in which the BC Ministry of Education outlined suggested protocols for implementing a staff vaccination policy.
“We are reviewing these guidelines and the potential for an immunization policy, as a possible addition to our current safety measures as part of the SD20 communicable disease prevention plan,” the board said. “At this time, we do not have enough information to determine whether an immunization policy would promote a safer learning environment for our school communities. “
The SD20 Board of Directors has asked Superintendent Katherine Shearer to move forward with the first step known as “data and evidence collection in accordance with confidentiality rules†as outlined in the guidelines.
The board says this is consistent with the work of other school boards in the province.
“While the implementation of an immunization policy is not a given, the council will continue to take a data, science and civic duty-based approach to designing a district policy to create the ‘safest environment possible for our students, staff and communities,’ said the Board of Directors.
“The SD20 school board believes vaccines are an important part of the public health response to COVID-19 and encourages eligible employees to get vaccinated. “
Citing the potential labor implications, the board said all of its meetings regarding the K-12 guidelines for immunization policies will be held behind closed doors.
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School District No. 20 Kootenay-Columbia
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