Minneapolis Public Schools weigh vaccine mandate for teachers, staff

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minneapolis school leaders will vote next week on a resolution that would require all employees to either get vaccinated or undergo routine testing.

The resolution would include all employees, volunteers, and contractors who work directly with students. For workers opting against getting vaccinated, the resolution requires "regular" testing but doesn't outline exactly what regular would mean.

On Wednesday, the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers threw its support behind a vaccine mandate while calling on the district to institute other safety measures in class.

Among the other recommendations, the teachers union wants to create a special team of teachers focused on remote learning and helping kids forced into quarantine during the school year. They also want to increase social distancing efforts in school and supply teachers with N-95 and KN-95 facemasks.

The mandate will be on the agenda for Tuesday's board meeting.