Inslee to Use L&I to ‘Enforce’ Vaccination Higher Ed Requirements

Gov. Inslee this week laid out a complicated series of expectations for colleges and universities inside Washington state, referred to as IHE's (institutes of higher education).

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For campuses that are considered fully vaccinated (students, staff) they will not have to adhere to the following requirements, which will apply to non-fully vaccinated establishments:

"Adhere to all federal, state, and local public health and workplace safety requirements;

•" Develop a comprehensive COVID-19 infection control plan incorporating the requirements below, applicable workplace safety requirements, and best practices in CDC and DOH guidance for IHEs, and make available a copy of the plan at each location on campus;

• Implement a policy and procedure requiring students, staff, and faculty to provide information about their vaccination status:

o The IHE must verify the vaccination status of all staff and faculty who do not wear face coverings in the workplace, as required by L&I."

The verbiage in the proclamation states the IHE must ascertain the vaccination status of the staffer or student, and the school must be allowed to obtain certain medical records from the staffer or student.

It reads as follows:

"Language stating that the student is attesting to the truthfulness of their selfattestation and will be subject to disciplinary action if their self-attestation is determined to be untruthful in violation of the IHE’s code of conduct or equivalent; and

 Language stating that the IHE and state and local public health officials may require further verification of the student’s vaccination status, including viewing the student’s CDC vaccination card, state immunization information system record, or other documentation"

That almost sounds like a HIPPA violation.  To read more of Inslee's IHE 'clarification' click on the button below.