Fairfax County Public Schools teachers push for COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandate

School starts on Monday for more than 175,000 students at Fairfax County Public Schools and the union that's representing teachers say they want their teachers to be COVID-19 vaccinated or get tested every week.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. - School starts on Monday for more than 175,000 students at Fairfax County Public Schools and the union that's representing teachers say they want their teachers to be COVID-19 vaccinated or get tested every week.

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FCPS like many school districts is returning to five days a week of in-person learning this school year and will require all students and staff to wear a mask inside school buildings regardless of vaccination status but the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers wants to add this other protective layer.

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The union is asking Fairfax County Public Schools to team up with the County Health Department in order to make COVID-19 testing and vaccinations available for students and staffers.

Many school districts in the D.C region including, Montgomery and prince George's Countiesóthe districts and Arlington Virginia have already implemented vaccine requirements for teachers.

FOX 5's Ayesha Khan asked FCPS last week if they will be mandating their teachers to be vaccinatedóand at the time they said they will not require them to vaccinated. However, they are supporting vaccination clinics at their schools and will be hosting up to 40 such clinics in school buildings when they start school again.