By Yana Kunichoff | Arizona Republic
Gov. Doug Ducey’s office on Wednesday issued instructions to two Arizona school districts to change their quarantine policies, calling them discriminatory against unvaccinated children.
Gov. Doug Ducey’s office rebuked two Arizona school districts for their plans to quarantine unvaccinated students who are exposed to COVID-19. The dispute over how to interpret Arizona’s prohibition on vaccine mandates could be a sign of what’s to come.
On Wednesday night, staff of the governor’s office shared on Twitter two letters sent to the Peoria Unified and Catalina Foothills school districts demanding they “immediately rescind” policies that would require unvaccinated students who have been exposed to COVID-19 to quarantine, but not vaccinated students.
In the letters, Ducey adviser Kaitlin Harrier said applying quarantine policies differently to vaccinated and unvaccinated students amounts to discrimination.
C.J. Karamargin, a spokesperson for Ducey’s office, said Thursday that students have a right to receive in-person education, regardless of their vaccination status.
“The language in this legislation is specific to schools, and it’s not the same as general public health guidelines,” Karamargin said.
Peoria Unified said it would work with the governor’s office as needed, but until then would continue to follow state and county health guidance.
