The CSU reverses its policy on vaccine requirements, prompting faculty protest.

Without any fanfare or notifications, the California State University in February reversed its policy requiring that its 485,000 students on 23 campuses show proof of vaccination for diseases like measles, mumps, rubella, polio and others in order to be admitted. The 29,000-member California Faculty Association knew nothing about the change until a CSU Monterey Bay faculty member happened to find it and, alarmed, brought it to CFA’s attention, says Meghan O’Donnell, a CSUMB lecturer who serves on the CFA board.

While the University of California is still requiring vaccinations, in the CSU they are only recommended for students entering this fall, except in the case of Hepatitis B for those under the age of 18, which is required by law. CFA leaders filed an unfair practice charge with the California Public Employment Relations Board in March, contending that CSU Labor Relations made a unilateral change that could impact the health and safety of workers without consulting the union. On April 25, PERB filed a formal complaint against the CSU.

“There’s a reason why we have vaccination policies like this at public universities,” O’Donnell says. “We learned a lot from the Covid pandemic. It’s not just about individual choice, it’s about protecting the broader community.”

Hazel Kelly, a CSU spokesperson, says by email that the university is following “recommendations and guidance from the American College Health Association and the [Centers for Disease Control].” (Both “strongly recommend” that all college and university students be vaccinated.) The policy change includes the option for campus presidents to enact their own requirements. A CSUMB spokesperson says they have opted to follow the new policy, only recommending students be vaccinated.

Kelly contends that most of CSU’s students come from California secondary schools, which require vaccinations, so they would already be vaccinated before entering college. O’Donnell counters that there are international students, as well as students from states where vaccination policies may be different, and students from home schools.

According to the PERB complaint against the CSU Board of Trustees, the university violated government codes by making the unilateral change in policy. The next step is a mandatory settlement conference between CSU and CFA negotiators.