Dear Colleagues: 

As we move to a full return to in-person learning on August 16, we are doing so with all of the current health and safety requirements in place. And, given that we are in the midst of rising cases and new variants in our community, we believe a vaccine requirement is a necessary step to keeping our students, staff, and families safe. Vaccines remain highly effective—vaccinated people are much less likely to get severe symptoms that result in hospitalization or death from COVID-19.

So far we have received confirmation of vaccination status from over half our employees. Many educators are just returning to work this week after the summer break. We are giving employees until August 31 to submit vaccination verification. 

Starting September 7, all SFUSD employees will be required to be fully vaccinated.  

Anyone who is not yet vaccinated will be mandated to test for COVID at least weekly. All staff and students may continue to access COVID-19 testing through our partnership with Color. 

Our vaccine requirement does not apply to students though we will continue to encourage all eligible youth and their families to get vaccinated as well. We are happy to see on the City’s dashboard that there is a high level of vaccination among San Francisco’s 12-18 year olds. According to the City’s dashboard, of the estimated 33,938 12-17 year olds in San Francisco, 32,315 have been vaccinated.

You may find more specific details about this requirement for staff to be fully vaccinated. 

I continue to thank you for your steadfast commitment to our students and families. 

Sincerely,
Dr. Vincent Matthews, Superintendent