50 signatures reached
To: Governor Jay Inslee
Public and Private Schools Must Require Masks and Proof of Vaccination
Please prevent the needless deaths and disability of Washington State students, teachers, and their families by immediately requiring both public and private schools in Washington State to implement the two simple best practices of (1) indoor mask mandates and (2) proof of COVID-19 vaccination as conditions of entry.
This requirement must extend to all eligible students, teachers, staff, and visitors of the school, whether public or private. When everyone inside the school is masked and vaccinated, we can save many, many lives. When not, many people needlessly die.
Why is this important?
Student and teacher mask mandates are proven effective at minimizing the transmission of COVID-19. However, mask enforcement is difficult, and students and teachers remove masks when eating and drinking throughout the school day. Therefore, the mask mandate must be supplemented by COVID-19 vaccination among those teachers, students, and visitors eligible to receive the vaccination.
This mandate should extend to COVID-19 booster eligibility. Proof of vaccination must be enforced and should not be self-reported.
If proof of vaccination and a mask mandate are not implemented, not only will students, teachers, and their families experience needless deaths and disabilities, but our courts will also become clogged with families litigating against school districts over their alleged negligence during this time. Juries will not be forgiving to negligent school districts, and taxpayers will pay compensation to victims and victim families. Implementing a proof of vaccination check is far less costly than years of litigation resulting from unnecessary and preventable death and disability.
Prevent needless death and disability by implementing best practices already being implemented by other organizations in Washington State, including Google, Microsoft, the University of Washington, Washington State University, the Seattle Theatre Group, and others.