On Monday evening, Superintendent Truitt provided new guidance to schools regarding OSHA’s “vaccine-or-test” Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). She sent guidance in a letter to superintendents and district HR directors.
Sup. Truitt issued the guidance in light of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent decision to extend its stay of the ETS. Sup. Truitt encouraged schools to prepare for implementation of the standard, but noted that compliance is not required until litigation is resolved.
She wrote:
“We are unsure how this legal dispute will unfold, or how quickly the case will move through the process.“I realize many of you are trying to plan ahead, and while we wait for the litigation to proceed, DPI continues to advise that districts develop their written policy for compliance and consider plans for tracking vaccination status as well as testing for those not vaccinated. However, until pending litigation is resolved in the higher courts, districts are not required to comply with the vaccine-or-test Emergency Temporary Standard. As always, we recommend you consider speaking with your district counsel.”