As DC lifts vaccine mandate, Fairfax Co. schools move graduation ceremonies back

Fairfax County, Virginia, public school graduations in D.C. will go on as originally planned now that Mayor Muriel Bowser has ended the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Virginia’s largest school system said last week that it was moving high school graduation ceremonies away from DAR Constitution Hall because of the city’s vaccination requirement.

At the time, a spokeswoman said Fairfax County Public Schools changed the venue because the D.C. vaccine requirement “would have prevented a number of students and families from attending the event, and we felt it was important that all students and guests could attend this important culminating event.”

But with the mandate lifted, graduation ceremonies for Langley, Madison, Marshall and McLean High Schools will be held at DAR Constitution Hall May 31 and June 1.

In the event the D.C. vaccine mandate returns before the ceremonies, graduation will be held at the high schools, the school system said.

Though Bowser ended the vaccine requirement for restaurants and other indoor spaces earlier this week, the D.C. council has a special session scheduled for Friday to discuss legislation that would reinstate the coronavirus vaccine mandate. It would require support from at least nine council members to pass and cannot have a cost associated with it.


More Coronavirus News

Looking for more information? D.C., Maryland and Virginia are each releasing more data every day. Visit their official sites here: Virginia | Maryland | D.C.


Scott Gelman

Scott Gelman is a digital editor and writer for WTOP. A South Florida native, Scott graduated from the University of Maryland in 2019. During his time in College Park, he worked for The Diamondback, the school’s student newspaper.

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