(CHAT News file photo)

By Canadian Press

ATA supports vaccine mandates for teachers, other school staff

Sep 28, 2021 | 12:31 PM

The Alberta Teachers’ Association is urging the provincial government to mandate that all teachers and other school staff be vaccinated against COVID-19.

The association says that school boards should bring in the requirement if the government doesn’t.

ATA president Jason Schilling says in a statement that the best way to support student safety when many kids are too young to be vaccinated is to ensure that the adults around them have had their shots.

A non-profit parents group called Support Our Students says it has compiled data that indicates at least 198 schools in the province are dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks.

The full statement from the ATA president is below.

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Reasonable policies that require school staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 are being encouraged by the Alberta Teachers’ Association. The Association is releasing a statement that encourages the Government of Alberta and, in its absence, individual school boards, to introduce such mandates and outlines the specific conditions required to develop a reasonable mandate.

“The best way to support student safety at a time when so many students cannot be vaccinated is to ensure that the adults around them are vaccinated. We cannot mandate vaccination for our members so we are making it clear that we believe those who can—like the Government of Alberta or individual school boards—should,” says Schilling

The Association has received legal advice that speaks to the conditions required for a reasonable vaccine mandate. These conditions ensure that mandates are temporary and reviewable, that reasonable accommodations are available and that noncompliance is handled in a way that is nondisciplinary but still protects school safety.

The policy statement released today provides school boards with information about how to develop mandates that would comply with Association legal advice. The Association does not anticipate providing support to members wishing to challenge vaccine mandates that meet the criteria released today.

“We will not be part of opposing or challenging vaccine mandates, so long as the policies are reasonable,” Schiling adds. “School boards will have to ensure that employee privacy is respected as much as possible and personal information will have to be stored securely, but this is an area where a balancing of rights and responsibilities is warranted.”

Schilling points out that this new policy statement is consistent with pre-existing Association policy on vaccinations previously approved by the ATA’s annual representative assembly.

The Association has also introduced directives that mandate proof of vaccination requirements for anyone to attend any in-person events organized by the ATA or any of its subgroups.

Meantime, Sarah Hoffman, NDP Critic for Education, made the following statement in response to the ATA’s support for mandatory vaccinations for school staff:

“Alberta’s NDP believes that all adults inside Alberta schools should be vaccinated. This requirement would help slow the escalating spread of COVID-19 among unvaccinated children.

“It’s outrageous that the UCP is hiding information about COVID cases in schools from students, staff and families. Everyone should have the right to make informed decisions about their own safety, but the UCP refuses to release the information that would allow Albertans to do that.

“Some school districts are publicly releasing school-level data on self-reported cases, and I thank them for doing what they can to keep their communities safe. Adriana LaGrange and Jason Copping must require school staff to be vaccinated, and immediately release the case information, and modeling, they are hiding.”

(With files from rdnewsNOW)