California parents choosing to rally against vaccine mandates for students have planned a statewide walkout for Monday.
“If this mandate goes through, it will be devastating to our school system. I know that a third of the families in our area will pull their kids,” said teacher Phil Johnson.
Phil Johnson is a teacher at Ponderosa High School in El Dorado County.
He plans to participate in the statewide school walkout Monday, in response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s vaccine mandate for school children.
“I think this mandate especially in kids is a complete government overreach and that Governor Newsom is playing politics with our children,” said Johnson.
The biology teacher of 21 years points out the CDC’s reporting of low death rates among children with COVID.
Earlier this month, the state enacted the nation’s first COVID vaccine mandate for school children.
Governor Newsom is to have all students in 7th through 12th grades vaccinated by next fall once the shots gain final federal approval for everyone 12 and over.
Newsom said the state will require young students ages 5 to 11 to get the vaccine, once approved.
“I was furious. Not even going to consider it for my child. As soon as I heard that being a mandate for the children I instantly started looking at homeschooling,” said a parent who asked to remain anonymous.
This parent has a student in the Liberty Union High School District in Contra Costa County and plans to walk out on Monday.
Organizers of the statewide walkout say there will be plenty of planned events if the vaccine mandate does not change.
KRON4 reached out to multiple school districts for comment but has not yet heard back.