California requires vaccines, tests for teachers and staff

By JOCELYN GECKER and KATHLEEN RONAYNE
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California will become the first state in the nation to require all teachers and school staff to get vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing — a wide order that applies to more than 800,000 staffers. The statewide vaccine mandate for K-12 educators comes as schools return from summer break amid growing concerns of the highly contagious delta variant. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the new policy Wednesday as he visited a San Francisco Bay Area school. Several large school districts in the state have issued similar requirements in recent days. Teachers unions also have dropped their opposition amid rising case rates.