Even though many Danville District 118 students are learning remotely this year, they still have to have proper immunizations, and the deadline is looming for that to get done.
Next Thursday, October 15th, is the last day for students to receive the required vaccinations before they will no longer be permitted to attend public schools, including here in Danville. Superintendent Alicia Geddis says the state extended the deadline by six weeks this year, but it is holding firm to its new deadline date.
Geddis says three large school districts near Danville have decided not to follow state guidelines due to pandemic concerns, but she says she will not encourage parents to violate state law.
“We are going to have to follow school code, and we are going to have to turn of the hotspots and disconnect those children, because I cannot, as the educational leader, advise you not to follow the school code,” Geddis explained.
School board member Lon Henderson says in his experience, parents usually “kicked the can down the road” when deadlines were extended, and he says there aren’t any barriers to getting vaccines like there were when the pandemic began.
“We’ve given them an additional six weeks,” Henderson says. “Parents need to be parents. It’s time for them to get their kids to the doctor. Physicians’ offices are open, whereas in March, they were not…(this) is the parents’ responsibility to get this taken care of.”
Geddis says as of Wednesday night, 680 students—80 in-person and 600 remote—still do not have the required vaccinations or have not submitted paperwork indicating they have done so.
