Board: Students, Employees Must Be Vaccinated or Test Negative

August 16, 2021 - 01:35 PM

The Mt. San Antonio College Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution Friday night requiring all students and employees on campus to be vaccinated or test negative for COVID-19. The board also gave authority to administrators to develop and implement a COVID-19 vaccine and testing program. A timeline will be released by Aug. 23, the first day of Fall classes.
 
The resolution also extends the college’s existing mask mandate, in place since ordered by Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in July, to the end of the Fall semester in December. Regardless of vaccination status, all students and employees must wear a mask while indoors, with a few exceptions.

“This pandemic is not over and we cannot delay” said Board President Jay Chen. “We need a program to protect faculty, staff and students while they are on campus. Their health and safety is the District’s top priority.” 

Passage of the resolution allows the college to immediately and rapidly begin the process of working out the countless details of implementation, including coordinating with campus departments and outside vendors. The COVID-19 vaccine and testing program will be effective for college faculty, staff and students as soon as practicable, and will include a process to verify vaccination status and testing of unvaccinated individuals.

Effective with the Winter 2022 intersession,  students will be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 or participate in weekly testing if authorized for an exemption based on medical or sincerely held religious belief from vaccination to engage in on-campus activities.  Online students who are unvaccinated may come to campus for limited circumstances utilizing designated areas and appropriate control measures, with appointments where practical, in each area, such as picking up a loaner laptop or quick transactions in Student Services or the library.