Are employees at private schools in Columbus area required to get COVID vaccine?
Last month, the Ledger-Enquirer reported whether public schools in the Columbus area require their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 after the superintendent of the school district in Decatur, Georgia, announced a coronavirus vaccine mandate for employees.
Now, the L-E reports how private schools in the Columbus area are handling the issue.
State and federal COVID vaccine orders
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s executive order May 25 prohibits state agencies from mandating proof of COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment, to receive state services or enter a state property. So the mandate in Decatur sets up a possible challenge in court.
Also in May, the state legislature in Alabama passed a law, signed by Gov. Kay Ivey, banning COVID-19 vaccine passport mandates. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall issued legal guidance about the law in July. Mike Lewis, the office spokesman, told the L-E that Marshall determined the new law prohibits public agencies from requiring employees to prove their coronavirus vaccination status but doesn’t address private employers.
In September, President Joe Biden expanded his COVID vaccine mandate for all federal workers and contractors to include private employers with more than 100 employees or test for the virus weekly.
Oct. 12, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration submitted to the White House its proposed rules for Biden’s mandate, according to a report by Reuters.
“The move indicates the proposed standard could be released soon,” the Reuters report says.
COVID vaccine for Columbus-area private school employees?
The Ledger-Enquirer sent the following questions to leaders of private schools in the Columbus area:
- Does your school require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19? Why or why not?
- If they are required, who decided that mandate, how and when?
- If they aren’t required, who would decide such a mandate at your school and how?
- If they aren’t required, is your school working on a plan to implement such a mandate? Why or why not?
- What percentage of your school’s employees are vaccinated against COVID-19?
Here’s what the L-E learned from their emailed responses.
Brookstone School
Brookstone School replied with the following statement from communications director Connie Mansour:
“Vaccination is the best way to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. To that end, Brookstone School encourages all eligible members of the community to be vaccinated. While a significant portion of our community, children under 12, are not eligible to receive the vaccine, we encourage those adults who support them to have been or consider being vaccinated. Though our policy as it stands today has no vaccine mandate in place for faculty, a large majority are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Our top priority is the physical well-being of our community matched by a commitment to providing an excellent education experience.”
St. Anne-Pacelli Catholic School
Employees aren’t required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 at St. Anne-Pacelli Catholic School, said communications director Jennifer Sillitto.
St. Anne-Pacelli follows the guidelines set by the Diocese of Savannah’s Department of Catholic Education, she said.
The percentage of St. Anne-Pacelli’s 103 employees vaccinated against COVID-19 isn’t available because the school doesn’t track that data, Sillitto said. The school also doesn’t test them for the coronavirus, she said.
St. Luke School
Employees aren’t required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 at St. Luke School, said head of school Richard Green.
It would be up to the board of trustees and church leadership to make that mandate, but no such policy is planned, Green said.
Out of the school’s 71 employees, 84% are vaccinated against COVID-19, he said.
St. Luke School tests its employees for the coronavirus only if they request to be tested “or, in some situations, we have advised them to be tested due to symptoms/exposure,” Green said.
Other private schools in Columbus area
Calvary Christian School headmaster Jim Koan and Glenwood School headmaster Frankie Mitchum declined to answer the L-E’s questions.
Officials at Emanuel Preparatory School of Math and Science, Grace Christian School, Hallie Turner Private School, Phenix Christian School, Pinehurst Christian School, The Campus Academy, Waverly Hall Christian School and Wynnbrook Christian School didn’t reply before publication.
