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The Los Angeles school board agreed Tuesday to delay enforcement of its student COVID-19 vaccine mandate from Jan. 10, 2022, to fall 2022.

The decision came after interim Supt. Megan K. Reilly laid out a plan Friday to push back the deadline because the district was confronted with the reality that about 28,000 students had not complied and under the rules would be barred from in-person schooling and enrolled in independent study.

So far, 87% of L.A. Unified students 12 and older have shown proof of vaccination, a high rate that Reilly cited when she proposed the delay. But the district’s independent study program, City of Angels, is overwhelmed with about 16,000 students — and district officials did not want to send so many children back to online learning.

Incoming Supt. Alberto Carvalho, who was in Los Angeles on Tuesday, weighed in on the issue during a news conference, calling the move “the right decision” considering the fluid circumstances of the pandemic and high vaccination rate.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.