Vaccine Mandate Message from Chancellor Houston
The safety and health of all Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø students and employees is our top priority as we strive to ensure the continuous delivery of services to our students and community. In our continued effort to protect our employees, students and the public from COVID-19, especially the highly contagious Delta variant, the Board voted to mandate vaccines for students, employees, contractors, and visitors beginning October 15, 2021.
With this decision comes many details that need to be addressed. The District Office and College Incident Response Teams are currently addressing these details and ask for your patience as we work through the implementation plan. This planning will be done with the broadest consultation, therefore, some aspects, some decisions and some processes will take time to develop.
We are aware that many faculty, staff, students and community partners have specific questions about how the new policy will impact them; the College Presidents are holding forums for employees and students to hear and, when possible, answer those questions; but we hope you understand that not all questions can be answered immediately.
The District is currently working on a webpage for Frequently Asked Questions about the vaccine mandate which will also allow individuals to pose their questions.
Throughout this pandemic we have placed the safety and well-being of students and employees forefront in our decision-making and we will continue to do so even in the policy decisions we will make. With that said, students do not need to rush to enrollment decisions and employees do not need to rush to employment decisions. We will implement the mandate with grace, patience and respect.
Thank you for your compliance with this new requirement. Please stay safe and continue to wear a facial covering indoors, practice physical distancing (staying at least 6-feet away from others), wash your hands frequently throughout the day for at least 20 seconds using soap and water, and avoid touching your face, especially your eyes, nose, and mouth.
