Dear Sacramento City Unified School District Families,

We are pleased to share the following updates about Sac City Unified’s COVID 19 policies that were discussed at the recent Sac City Unified Board of Education meeting. 

SCUSD VACCINATION MANDATE – STUDENTS

The goal of the Sac City Unified vaccination or testing policy is to improve COVID-19 safety in our community, protect the health of students and staff, and keep our schools open for in-person learning. Our goal is that 100% of our students meet this mandate by the February 28 deadline. 

There are 3,080 students who have not yet reported their vaccination status to the District or submitted an exemption and registered for routine testing. As our district’s February 28 vaccine mandate deadline approaches, given current agreements with our labor partners, it is clear that SCUSD does not have capacity in our Independent Study program for a significant  increase in enrollment. While outreach will continue to families of students that have not yet met the requirement, students attending in-person learning will continue to do so until further notice. The Sac City Unified School Board is expected to address this issue again at the March 3 Board of Education meeting.

Please, if you have not already done so, report your student’s vaccination status and/or register your student for testing as soon as possible. 

MASK POLICY

We are closely monitoring the State’s COVID guidance and requirements for schools. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced this week that the state will provide an update on guidance for schools on February 28, including a potential update on the statewide masking requirement for schools. However, there is currently no change to Sac City Unified’s policy regarding masks. All Sac City Unified students, staff, and visitors are required to wear a face mask while at school.  

SCUSD VACCINATION MANDATE – STAFF

All Sac City Unified staff are still required to report their vaccination or request an exemption and agree to regular COVID testing by the February 28 deadline. Staff members that do not meet this requirement by the February 28 deadline will be placed on unpaid leave. Our staff are critical to serving our students, and we do not want any staff members to end up in this position. The district’s Human Resources team will be conducting intensive outreach to all staff members that have not yet met this requirement. As we near the February 28 deadline we will keep you informed of any changes in staffing that may be necessary. 

EXTRA-CURRICULAR RESTRICTIONS EXPECTED TO BE LIFTED

We are excited to announce that we expect to lift restrictions on extra-curricular activities that were temporarily imposed during the omicron surge. These changes could come as soon as Tuesday, February 22. Following established COVID-19 health and safety protocols, when case rates fall below 50 cases per 100K residents and hold for two weeks, the below activities may resume, following the district’s established approval process: 

• Field trips (including those scheduled for Sly Park in March)
• Extra-curricular activities held during and after school
• Non-essential tournaments or competitions
• Group orientations and in-school tours
• Remove outdoor masking requirement where there is ample space for physical distancing

Case rates fell below 50 cases per 100K residents on February 8, are currently at 31.3 cases per 100K residents. Sac City Unified will provide an update on this topic as soon as we hit the two week mark.

COVID TEST KITS DISTRIBUTED TO ALL STUDENTS AND STAFF

Last but not least, be sure to check your student’s backpacks for take-home COVID test kits that were distributed to all students and staff in advance of the long weekend. Please test your student and report your student’s test results to Primary.Health on Monday prior to returning to school on Tuesday following the three day weekend. 

Our district will continue to offer COVID testing at all school sites and will continue to hold regularly scheduled vaccination and testing clinics. We encourage all students to participate in COVID testing regularly as part of our COVID surveillance effort. 

Please enjoy your President’s Day holiday!