The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will require weekly Covid-19 testing for all students and employees returning to in-person learning, regardless of vaccination status, school officials announced in a news release Thursday.
“All students and employees, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, returning for in-person instruction must participate in baseline and ongoing weekly COVID testing,” the district said. “This is in accordance with the most recent guidance from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.”
LAUSD is the second-largest school district in the country with more than 600,000 students. Testing for all students and employees begins on Aug. 2, officials said. Full return to in-person instruction across most LAUSD campuses begins on Aug. 16.
The district’s preparations for the start of the new school year also include mandatory masking indoors for all students, staff, and visitors, officials said.
Legal guardians of students will be required to schedule the ongoing Covid-19 testing appointments. All results will be emailed and shared with appropriate scientists, administrators, and health authorities, officials said.
“Ultimately, the greatest protection against COVID and the Delta variant is vaccination,” said Megan Reilly, LAUSD interim superintendent. “We encourage everyone who is eligible to be vaccinated.”
CNN has reached out to United Teachers Los Angeles, the union which represents LAUSD teachers, for comment.
