Clovis parents urge school board to fight California’s new student vaccination mandate
Clovis Unified parents and community members asked the school board to defy state coronavirus orders Wednesday night during the first board meeting since Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a statewide COVID-19 vaccine mandate for school children.
The plea is similar to a parent-led protest of the state mask mandate in Clovis over the summer.
While school board members didn’t commit to defying state laws, some board members said they disagreed with the vaccine mandate altogether and would prefer to give options to parents.
“It’s one thing to put a mask on a kid,” said Clovis Unified Board President Steven Fogg. “It’s another thing to stick a needle in their arm.”
Clovis residents speak out against California’s student vaccine mandate
On Friday, Newsom announced that California students would have to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend in-person classes once the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizes full approval of the shots for their age groups.
His office says the mandate, the first of its kind in the United States, is expected to take effect sometime next year.
Many Clovis Unified parents urged the board to fight the mandate, suggesting everything from simple defiance to writing letters to Newsom and lawsuits.
“I think the government’s announcement has caused a lot of anxiety for all of us because it’s so vague,” said Fogg.
A similar vaccine mandate is in place for teachers. California teachers need to confirm that they are vaccinated by Oct. 15 or submit to regular testing.
On Wednesday, Barry Jager, associate superintendent of Human Resources, told the board that 63% of Clovis Unified staff had shown proof of vaccination. The other 37% will undergo weekly testing, said Jager.
“We have worked with our purchasing department, warehouse technology, nursing services, etcetera, to make sure that internally we have a system ready to go for that week,” he said.
But parents said they want to see the district take more action against a student vaccine mandate.
“We don’t want you to mandate our kids to be jabbed with the COVID-19 vaccines,” said Dawn Wells, a Clovis Unified parent who spoke during public comment. “It’s important you respect parents and their wishes and what they decide to do for their children.”
Another parent, Tim Hulse, asked the school board to send a letter to the governor telling him that “we are not going to allow our children...to get the shot.” Hulse said that if the vaccine mandate goes through, “there are many of us that will pull our children” from school.
Hulse had also asked the district to defy Fresno County COVID-19 restrictions in January that limited how many students could return to school.
Another parent asked the school board to take legal action.
The district’s general counsel, Maiya Yang, said that the district would closely follow the San Diego-based “Let Them Breathe” efforts but said it “doesn’t make sense” to duplicate legal efforts.
The “Let Them Breathe” organization was recently denied a request for a restraining order against Newsom and state health officials. The organization plans to legally challenge the state’s new vaccination mandate.
Clovis Unified Superintendent Eimear O’Farrell said that the district is in a difficult position. “It’s a very challenging position because…the mandates have the full force of the law.” Not enforcing the vaccine mandate would mean “asking 6,500 people to break the law,” said O’Farrell.
The board said it would wait for more information from the state on the vaccine mandate, such as information about religious, medical, and personal belief exemptions.
“I personally have a hard time (supporting) a mandate,” said board member Tiffany Stoker Madsen.
Current and former students also shared their recent experiences with masks and vaccines.
Paul Porter, a Clovis North High School student representative who spoke at Wednesday’s board meeting, said that students have adapted to wearing masks in school.
“Volleyball games are indoor, so obviously we have to wear masks, but it doesn’t stop our students’ section. We’re still able to support at our max level,” said Porter.
Fogg asked Porter if he had heard any complaints from other students about the mask mandate. “For me personally, I haven’t heard a lot about it. I think kids have just gotten used to it because we’ve been doing it for such a long time,” said Porter.
While Porter didn’t comment about the vaccine mandate, a local community college student said she disapproved of a vaccine mandate for students and school staff.
Addison Werth is a 19-year-old Clovis Unified alumni and first-year Fresno City College student who attended Wednesday night’s board meeting to promote an anti-mandate rally at Fresno City College on Thursday morning.
“We’re not trying to be pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine,” said Werth in an interview with The Bee on Wednesday night. “Our goal is to give students and faculty members and community-members the choice.” Event organizers expect between 150-200 attendees, including many Clovis Unified parents.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
