Parents protest policy keeping unvaccinated Granada Hills Charter High School students from attending graduation
Parents and students rallied outside of Granada Hills Charter High School on Tuesday to protest a policy that will bar unvaccinated students from participating in graduation ceremonies.
Granada Hills Charter has maintained its vaccination requirement despite the Los Angeles Unified School District delaying the vaccination mandate until July 1, 2023.
According to the school, 99% of eligible students have been vaccinated.
"Our board stands by the science that indicates that vaccination is the most effective and best tool available to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the safest learning environment possible," the school said in a statement.
"Our commitment to safety is ever more important as COVID-19 cases are spiking again, and the prospect of outbreaks and new variants is significant."
The protesting parents said the policy will keep 70 unvaccinated high school seniors from the graduation ceremonies, including eight special-needs students.
"What Granada Hills charter high school has done to its graduating seniors is egregious and unconstitutional by both state and federal standards," Parisa Fishback, cofounder of a group called Moms on the Ground, said in a statement ahead of the rally.
"We will hold them accountable in every way possible. For now, we march for the kids that they will not allow to walk."