At this time, there is no general vaccine mandate for students ages 5 or older attending public school. 

However, vaccinations will be required for:

• DOE employees
• Students participating in high-risk sports and extracurricular activities
• City contracted child care and after school staff
• Charter school staff

DOE Employees

By October 1, 2021, all Department of Education (DOE) employees — including teachers, principals, custodians, and all central office staff — must have submitted proof of at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. DOE employees who have received only the first dose of a 2-dose vaccine as of October 1 are expected to receive the 2nd dose within 45 days of the first dose to remain compliant.

DOE staff must submit proof of vaccination at vaccine.schools.nyc.

Employees who are unable to comply with the COVID vaccination requirement because of medical or religious reasons may apply for a reasonable accommodation. The application and guidelines are available online. Learn more about applying for a reasonable accommodation.

High-Risk Sports and Extracurricular Activities 

COVID-19 vaccination is required this year for all students (aged 12 and older) participating in high-risk Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) sports and extracurricular activities.

Starting on December 14, 2021, this mandate will expand to include students ages 5 to 11.

High-risk sports include:

• Basketball
• Football
• Lacrosse
• Rugby
• Stunt (competitive cheerleading)
• Volleyball
• Wrestling

High-risk extracurricular activities include:

• Cheerleading 
• Chorus 
• Dance
• Music (Band & Orchestra) 
• Step 
• Theater 

PSAL participants are required to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by the first day of competitive play, which varies by sport. Winter and spring PSAL participants have until the beginning of their seasons to be fully vaccinated.

Fully vaccinated participants can remove their masks while engaging in these activities.

Families can upload proof of students' vaccination status at vaccine.schools.nyc.

To find a vaccination site, visit the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccine page. Mobile vaccination sites will also be visiting schools and PSAL conditioning sites across the city this fall.

City Contracted Staff

Effective September 27, City contracted child care and after school staff must receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Some programs include:

• 3-K
• Pre-K
• EarlyLearn Program
• HomeBase Childcare
• Afterschool Programs
• Cornerstone Program
• Beacon Program

To find a vaccination site, visit the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccine page.

Charter School Staff

By September 27, 2021, all charter school staff and teachers must have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. All charter schools, including those located within DOE buildings, are covered by this mandate.

Private Schools

All employees at private schools, including yeshivas and Catholic schools, are required to show proof they received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by December 20, 2021.

At this time there is no vaccine mandate for students attending private schools.

Vaccine Mandate Violation

Visit the School COVID-19 Health and Safety Complaint page to report vaccine mandate violations in a public school.

Families are encouraged to record their student’s vaccination status in the DOE's COVID-19 Vaccination Portal at vaccine.schools.nyc.

Submitting this information will support New York City’s pandemic response and recovery efforts, and help ensure that DOE schools and buildings remain safe places for all students and staff.

Students and their families can access the Vaccine Portal with the student's DOE account login credentials (email and password).

The Vaccine Portal will ask you to:

• Identify the type of vaccine,
• Where you received it (in or out of New York City), and
• When you received the vaccine.

You will then need to upload an image or screenshot of the proof of vaccine. It can be an image of a vaccination card, NYS Excelsior Pass, or other government record.

The privacy and security of your information will be protected by technical, physical, and administrative safeguards, including encryption. This information will be kept confidential in accordance with federal, state, and local laws. 

Learn more about the Vaccination Portal.

Learn more about DOE Student Accounts.

Technical Support

You can get assistance by phone if you are having technical issues with the Vaccination Portal.

Beginning Monday, November 8, some public schools will have temporary pop-up vaccine sites offering the first dose of Pfizer vaccinations to eligible students ages 5 to 11 during the month of November. No appointment is needed, you can simply walk in with your student on the day of your school’s pop-up vaccine site. The list of sites is available online.

Students must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, or by an adult designated by the parent or guardian, while receiving their vaccine.

You do not need health insurance to get vaccinated—the vaccine is free. All records and information associated with vaccination are kept strictly confidential. Vaccines are administered by trained medical professionals.

You will not need to provide proof of immigration status or a social security number to get vaccinated. On-site telephone interpretation in multiple languages will be available.

Find a school pop-up vaccine site near you.

Vaccines for People 12 and Older

If you, your student age 12 and up, or someone else you know is still in need of a vaccine, visit the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccine page instead to choose from hundreds of sites across the city offering appointments or walk-up vaccines at no cost.

All schools are required to follow health and safety protocols to prevent, identify, and address the spread of COVID-19.

Schools will also:

• Promote healthy behaviors such as physical distancing, wearing face coverings, handwashing, and using sanitizer
• Clean the school throughout the day and disinfect every night
• Maintain an isolation room for students with symptoms with a dedicated staff member or health professional
• Communicate clearly with families and the school community
• Have a nurse in every public school building
• Have biweekly COVID-19 testing for a random selection of unvaccinated students

Get COVID-19 health and safety information for public schools.

Download the DOE health and safety guide.

Daily Health Screenings

Every student and staff member must complete the DOE Online Health Screening Tool prior to entering the school building each day. Anyone entering the building must confirm that they are not experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, have not recently tested positive for COVID-19, and are not currently required to quarantine based on close contact with an infected person. If you need a thermometer to check for a fever, you can request one from your school.

If you are having issues accessing the online tool, use a paper form or inform school staff verbally.

If a student or staff member is feeling ill, they must stay home and get tested, which is an effective way of protecting the whole school community. Every school will have a nurse on staff to whom students can report if they are feeling ill.

Face Covering Rules

All students and staff must wear a face covering when riding on school buses and anywhere on school property, indoors and outdoors, regardless of vaccination status, unless they have a medical exemption. Every school will have a supply on hand for children and adults.

During lunchtime, masks may be removed so students can eat comfortably at a safe distance from one another. Masks may also be removed during designated “mask breaks”, during which students will maintain physical distance from each other.

Students who are not medically able to tolerate masks will be provided with alternative accommodations.

COVID-19 Cases in Schools

Daily COVID Case Map

You can view a map that shows all known active interventions and cases of COVID-19 at New York City public schools. It is updated Sunday through Friday at 6 PM.

View the daily COVID case map.

Quarantine and School Closure Protocols 

As of Monday, September 27, DOE will no longer close an entire classroom when there is a positive case. Vaccinated and unvaccinated students who are wearing face coverings and have maintained at least three feet of distance from a student who tests positive will not be considered close contacts and will not have to quarantine.

Schools will be closed only when it is determined by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) that there is widespread transmission in the school.

If you have questions or concerns about quarantine protocols, contact your child's school. Visit the School Finder page for school contact information.

School Visitor Policy

All visitors (age 12 and older) must show proof of at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination to enter a DOE building. Visitors do not include students attending school in a DOE building. 

The following are acceptable as proof of COVID-19 vaccination:​

• CDC Vaccination Card (or photo)
• NYC Vaccination Record (or photo)
• An official immunization record from outside NYC or the U.S (or photo)
• Excelsior Pass App
  • Android
  • iOS
• NYC COVID Safe App
  • Android
  • iOS
• DOE COVID-19 Vaccine Portal (vaccine.schools.nyc)

An acceptable COVID-19 vaccination includes one dose of any COVID-19 vaccine fully authorized or authorized for emergency use by the FDA or WHO.

To learn more about vaccination records, visit Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccination Record page.

All visitors must also wear face coverings.

COVID-19 Health and Safety Complaints

To report a school not following COVID-19 health and safety rules, including lack of face coverings or vaccine mandate violations, visit the School COVID-19 Health and Safety Complaint page.

Every public school will randomly test unvaccinated students (who have submitted consent for testing) weekly, at a threshold of 10% of unvaccinated students per school population (Pre-K and Kindergarten are excluded). 

If you already submitted a COVID-19 testing consent form during the last school year or summer, you will need to do so again for the 2021-2022 school year. 

There are two ways to submit the form:

• You can complete the consent form on your child's NYC Schools Account.
• Print and sign the form and bring it to your child’s school on the first day they are back in the school building. Printable consent forms are available online in ten languages. 

If your child is tested, your school will let you know they were tested and when and how you will receive the results, which are usually available within 48-72 hours.

If you do not want your child to participate in random surveillance testing, do not submit consent.

Learn more about school-based COVID-19 testing.

You can also email questions to Covid19SchoolTesting@schools.nyc.gov.

To support remote learning and help students stay connected during emergencies, the DOE provided internet-enabled iPads to public school students in New York City. All iPads were granted on a temporary basis and will later need to be returned.

DOE is no longer providing iPads.

Get answers to some remote learning device (iPad) questions.

Returning a DOE iPad

If the student is returning to a DOE school, DOE Pre-K or 3-K program, or are participating in a DOE program in a non-public or charter school (either for blended or remote learning), you do not need to return the iPad to DOE at this time. 

If the student is not returning to a DOE school or program, the borrowed iPad must be returned to DOE. You can bring the iPad back to the last DOE school the student attended. Make sure to give it to the Principal, Assistant Principal, Parent Coordinator, School Point of Contact for Technology (SPOC) or other person at the school who is in charge of technology. 

Learn more about returning an iPad.

Get Help

You can get help with DOE iPads, including but not limited to:

• Setting up the device
• Accessing applications
• Technical issues
• Internet connection issues
• iPad delivery status
• Connectivity issues in temporary housing

Parking is allowed in school zones when school is in recess. However, you should be aware that specific schools may be open on holidays and during summer vacations. Parking restrictions would remain in effect.

Parking restrictions remain in effect while schools are doing remote learning.

Also, when schools are open for summer sessions, teacher meetings, or similar activities, the parking regulations apply on such days, even if students aren't attending.

You should contact the specific school to verify that it's in recess.