Families are lining up to get tested before school starts Tuesday. Kim Baldonado reports Jan. 7, 2022.
As COVID-19 cases continue to spike, the LAUSD says it is now requiring all students and employees to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test regardless of vaccination status before returning to campuses when school resumes on Jan. 11.
The district requires COVID-19 testing for all students K-12 and employees, regardless of vaccination status, before the first week back from winter break, the district said in a letter released Monday.
They said that they will start on Tuesday, Jan. 11, and they designated Monday a "Pupil Free Day."
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All students and employees will be required to have proof of a negative COVID-19 test in order to come onto campus on Jan. 11, the district said.
Employees and students can get a baseline test beginning Monday, Jan. 3, officials said.
Below is a list of resources and other links for further information from the LAUSD:
- For information on testing centers and to make appointments, visit lausd.net/covidtestingappt or call the Family Help Desk at (213) 443-1300. No appointment is needed for Los Angeles Unified COVID-19 tests.
- Operating hours by site can be found here achieve.lausd.net/covidtestingappt.
- COVID-19 at-home rapid self-tests are available for K-12 students.
- You can your student's free at-home COVID-19 rapid self-tests on Friday, Jan. 7 and Saturday, Jan. 8 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at any of the district's 63 Grab & Go sites.
- Each student may receive two self-tests. Visit lausd.net/covid for a map of pickup locations.
- Families may upload external PCR or antigen tests, or at-home tests. Please make sure to upload onto the student’s Daily Pass account no later than Jan. 9, 2022.
- For information on how to upload an external test result, please visit lausd.net/dailypass.
For further information, click here.
Elsewhere, thousands of Los Angeles County children resumed in-person classes, but with tightened safety protocols.
In the Burbank Unified School District, parents didn't learn until late Sunday if their children would be returning to campus. The district's Board of Education held a 3 1/2-hour emergency meeting Sunday night to consider delaying the start of classes for a week in light of the surge in infections.
Late Sunday night, Superintendent Matt Hill announced on the district's Facebook page the decision to restart classes as scheduled, writing, "After a robust discussion, the Board of Education decided that schools remain open."
The district's administrators will consider changes in its COVID safety plan this week, including possible mandatory testing for students and staff and enforcing a vaccine booster requirement for all employees by April 1.
City News Service contributed to this story.
