Any adult who is regularly in a D.C. school or childcare facility will need to be vaccinated by November 1, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced at a press conference Monday afternoon.

The mandate applies to all public, charter, private, and parochial schools. Staff and personnel affected by the policy will not be allowed to opt in to weekly COVID-19 testing as an alternative to the mandate, Bowser said.

The mandate covers:

• Teachers, student teachers, teaching aides, substitute teachers, and teaching fellows
• Technology support personnel who work in schools
• Social workers
• Librarians and school library-based personnel
• Before- and after-school teachers, program leaders, and assistants
• Guidance counselors
• Principals and other school leaders, program coordinators and administrators
• School bus drivers
• School security personnel
• Aides for children with special needs in schools
• Cafeteria, janitorial, and building maintenance staff
• Coaches, trainers, athletic directors, referees, meet or game officials, and school-based media specialists filming games and training sessions
• Volunteers who are regularly at schools

“It is very clear, especially for our young people who are not eligible for the vaccine yet, that the best way to protect them is to have the adults around them vaccinated,” Bowser said, “in addition to all of the other mitigation strategies that we use.”

Parents who drop kids off in schools are not required to get vaccinated, Bowser also said, since most schools have pick up and drop off outside, which mitigates some of the transmission risk. (About 1,400 students are isolated for either having COVID-19 or being in close contact with those that did, Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said Monday.)

DC Charter School Alliance Executive Director Shannon Hodge told DCist/WAMU that the vast majority of public charter schools support the mandate and many have already imposed a similar measure.

“Others are prepared to do so, but feel strongly that careful coordination with the city is necessary for successful implementation,” Hodge said. “Charter school leaders and the DC Charter School Alliance are prepared to work together with Mayor Bowser, DC Public Schools, and DC Health to ensure we provide safe spaces to learn and adequately protect students and staff in the fight against COVID-19.”

While negative COVID-19 tests won’t get staff around the requirements, they may apply for religious or medical exemptions.

Bowser also announced a vaccine mandate for student athletes 12 and older: They must be vaccinated by November 1 to participate in sports. Students who turn 12 between September 16 and November 1 must be fully vaccinated before December 12 to practice or compete in extracurricular activities. DCPS, the Public Charter School Board, and each private and parochial school must establish systems for ensuring compliance with this rule among their student-athletes.

The announcement comes after Bowser also instituted a vaccine mandate or weekly testing regiment for D.C. government employees that went into effect last week. So far, 87% of employees have submitted their vaccination status, and of those, 72% report being fully vaccinated.

City Administrator Kevin Donahue said Monday that 475 D.C. government employees have requested an exemption from the vaccine for religious reasons, with 88% of those requests coming from DC Fire and EMS staff. Those people can use a negative weekly test to get around the mandate if their requests are approved.

“None have been approved,” Donahue said. “They’re all going through the due diligence that is required under federal law to see if those requests comport with the requirements to be able to gain eligibility to a deeply held spiritual belief as the basis for an exemption.”

Suspensions for failure to get vaccinated wouldn’t take effect until about October, after employees receive reminders about the mandate.

“Our Fire and EMS workers are in very precarious situations,” Bowser said. “Obviously, they go into people’s homes, they’re providing health care in the back of an ambulance, they live together, they sleep in the same rooms, they eat in the same kitchens, they spend a lot of time together.

“We see the extension of this mandate for our health care workers, especially our D.C. government employees, as the way to keep our community safe and get over this virus,” she said.

Meanwhile, DC Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt said that 316 registered healthcare professionals have requested exemptions to the vaccine mandate, with 270 religious requests and 39 medical requests. Unlicensed healthcare workers have requested 38 religious exemptions and three medical exemptions. Those requests are also pending.

This story has been updated with additional details about the various vaccine mandates for D.C. government employees.