COVID-19

Please note Los Angeles Unified updated these guidelines on January 7, 2022.

Los Angeles Unified will continue to collaborate with our health partners at the county and state levels, as well as our panel of medical experts and university partners. We also continue to review updates to county, state and federal guidance on a daily basis, and we may adjust policies accordingly. For more information, please see our Frequently Asked Questions.

In preparation for schools reopening on January 11, and in light of the rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, we are making changes to our health and safety protocols.

Please note the following updates:

• The first day of the Los Angeles Unified Spring semester for all K-12 students will now be on Tuesday, January 11, 2022.
• Monday, January 10, 2022, will be designated as a Pupil Free Day for school site employees.
• Los Angeles Unified now requires COVID-19 testing for all students and employees, regardless of vaccination status, before the first week back from winter break. All students and employees will be required to have proof of a negative COVID-19 test in order to come onto campus on January 11.
  • Employees and students can get a baseline test beginning Monday, January 3, 2022.
  • For information on testing centers and to make a COVID-19 test appointment at a Los Angeles Unified site, please visit lausd.net/covidtestingappt or call the Family Help Desk at (213) 443-1300. While appointments are encouraged, no appointment is needed for Los Angeles Unified COVID-19 tests. For a link of operating hours by testing site, please visit achieve.lausd.net/covidtestingappt.
  • COVID-19 at-home rapid self-tests are available for K-12 students. Please pick up your student’s free at-home COVID-19 rapid self-tests on Friday, January 7 and Saturday, January 8 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at any of our 63 Grab & Go sites. Each student may receive two self-tests. Please visit lausd.net/covid for a map of pickup locations. If a student is using this test to meet the baseline test requirement, please take a photo of the test results alongside a written confirmation of the student’s full legal name, date of birth and test date, must be uploaded onto the Daily Pass by January 10. For more information on how to administer these tests, please visit achieve.lausd.net/covidvideos. 
• Families may upload external PCR or antigen tests, or at-home tests. Please make sure to upload onto the student’s Daily Pass account no later than Monday January 10, 2022.
  • For information on how to upload an external test result, please visit lausd.net/dailypass.
• Weekly testing will continue for all students and employees, regardless of vaccination status, through the month of January.
• If a student or employee has tested positive they must isolate for at least five days. 
  • Individuals who test positive may be released from isolation and return to school on Day 6, provided all symptoms are improving, they are fever-free for the past 24 hours without fever-reducing medication, and they have a negative (antigen) test result from a test taken on or after Day 5. 
  • It is important that any externally administered, positive test result is added to the Daily Pass as soon as it is received.
  • Please see a graphic that outlines the isolation protocols here.
• Masking will be required at all times, indoors and outdoors. It is strongly recommended that all students wear well-fitting, non-cloth masks with a nose wire. All employees are required to wear surgical grade masks or higher.
  • Los Angeles Unified will continue to provide these kinds of masks to students and employees if they need them. Additionally, these masks will be available at our testing and Grab & Go sites.
• Vaccinations remain a key element in reducing the impact of COVID-19 on individuals and communities, and will be required for students 12 and older at the start of the Fall 2022 semester.
  • Anyone 5 years or older is eligible for the two-dose Pfizer vaccine.
  • Booster shots are available for anyone 16 and older, at least six months after their second dose.
  • For information on available vaccination sites, please visit lausd.net/covidvaccineappt.
• Daily Pass health screening is required for all who enter school campuses.

Keeping our schools safe is a top priority for Los Angeles Unified. We all have a role in keeping our schools safe. Thank you for doing your part. Your feedback and partnership are appreciated. As a united Los Angeles Unified community, we will work together to ensure the safety of our students. We also thank our families and employees for the ongoing support and patience as we continue to provide our students with the best possible education in the safest possible environment.