Unvaccinated students not allowed to walk at Granada Hills high school graduation

Unvaccinated students at Granada Hills Charter High School will have to watch their classmates walk across the stage from afar after the school prohibited them from attending the graduation ceremony.

"I felt abandoned by the school I worked so hard for," said senior Andrew Luna. "It's just heartbreaking." 

After working hard and getting through remote learning during the height of the pandemic, 18-year-old Luna thought he would be able to enjoy the rest of his senior year back at Granada Hills Charter High School. However, after winter break, he was notified that he wouldn't be allowed to come back if he wasn't vaccinated against COVID. 

He and other unvaccinated students were put into the school's online independent study program, barring them from any clubs and yearbook team activities. 

"Besides that, it was just the events on school campus, relationships with friends and just a lot I had to give up, essentially," Luna said. 

Because of the school's vaccination policy, Luna missed out on the last semester of his senior year on campus He was not allowed to attend prom, senior awards night, and now graduation on June 2.

"Right before graduation, he's being told that he can't graduate on stage," said Luna's father Tom. "That's not right."

Tom said his son and others who chose not to get vaccinated are being punished by the school. 

"Andrew is willing to be tested, there's no reason he can't get tested and then go into school just to graduate," he said. "They told us it was because of an uptick in COVID cases that this mandate occurred. But we know that's not the case because they planned this last year."

Granada Hills Charter High School did provide CBSLA with a statement that read in part:

"Our community asked for and has overwhelmingly supported our student vaccine policy as demonstrated by our 99% vaccination rate amongst those who are eligible to be vaccinated." 

The high school senior said even though it's too late for him to graduate with the rest of his class this year, he'll continue to speak out.

"Us seniors, we might be shot, but the next grade, the next grade after that, they'll get to be on campus and that's what we're fighting for, the future essentially," Luna said.