Not all Bay Area school districts have tracked teachers' vaccination status

How Bay Area school districts are adapting to new COVID rules

KTVU investigative reporter Brooks Jarosz takes a look at how Bay Area school districts are adapting to changes in the face of COVID.

OAKLAND, Calif. - Bay Area school districts have taken wide-ranging approaches to staff vaccinations, policies, and testing. And some districts have no idea how many teachers are fully vaccinated.

Before California Governor Gavin Newsom announced all teachers and school staff must be vaccinated or undergo regular testing, KTVU began surveying nearly 100 districts to figure out which districts were tracking vaccinations as students go back to school.

Specifically, each district superintendent was asked the following questions:

Is your school district tracking vaccination status for teachers and staff members?
What percentage of teachers and staff members in your district is currently vaccinated?
Have you required teachers and staff members to be vaccinated or submit to regular testing?

Among the 70 districts that answered the survey, the results show most Bay Area school districts are tracking vaccinations.

At least 25 districts answered that they are in the process of surveying or gathering data from teachers and staff. Another 25 districts provided percentages with an average among them of 90% reporting they were fully vaccinated.

Roughly 20 districts either don’t know who is and is not vaccinated, or simply won’t disclose that information. Another 30 never immediately responded, despite repeated requests.

The largest survey response came from districts in Santa Clara County. Because of county health guidance, districts have been tracking vaccination status and were already requiring regular testing for the unvaccinated before Gov. Newsom made it a requirement Wednesday.

Still, several districts have been going above and beyond by requiring testing even among those who are considered fully vaccinated. That includes Franklin-McKinley School District and Union School District in Santa Clara County and Menlo Park City School District in San Mateo County.

But other districts aren’t even tracking vaccination status. Many of them are in Sonoma County including Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District, Santa Rosa City Schools and Sonoma Valley Unified School District.

Others not keeping tabs on vaccinations include Vacaville Unified School District and Vallejo City Unified School District in Solano County and Pleasanton School District in Alameda County. They will all have to catch up over the next several weeks.

Berkeley School District and Hayward Unified School District told KTVU they would only review vaccination information when necessary or if there were reported cases of COVID-19.

Since the surveys were sent to school districts one week ago, two of the Bay Area’s biggest districts have changed their policies. San Francisco Unified School District and Oakland Unified School District both had a wait and see approach, not mandating shots or testing. Both districts announced late Tuesday they would require proof of vaccination or routine testing, ahead of the governor’s announcement.

To see how a certain school district responded to the survey, review the spreadsheet below.

Brooks Jarosz is an investigative reporter for KTVU. Email him at brooks.jarosz@fox.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter: @BrooksKTVU