L.A. schools drop many Covid-19 rules ahead of new school year

The Los Angeles Unified School District on Tuesday updated its COVID-19 protocols for the upcoming school year, dropping what many viewed as overly aggressive testing, masking and vaccination requirements.

Weekly testing of asymptomatic students and staff is gone. Instead, the district will shift to “response testing” involving those who are sick, or when there is potential for an outbreak.

Rapid at-home antigen tests will be distributed to students and staff to be used 48 hours before entering campus. Another round of at-home tests will be distributed at the end of the first week of school, which begins Aug. 15.

The “Daily Pass” system, which had required students and staff to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test to be on campus, will now be used to track positive test results.

Regarding vaccinations, LAUSD says employees are already vaccinated and it encourages “all eligible students to be vaccinated as well.”

Masking indoors continues to be “strongly recommended,” but not required.