ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE PHILADELPHIE COVID 19 MANDATORY VACCINATION POLICY FOR STUDENTS, INSTRUCTORS, STAFF, AND OTHERS
Purpose
The Alliance Francaise de Philadelphia, or Alliance, is concerned about the health and safety of its students, instructors, and staff. The Board of Directors of the Alliance, or Board, has approved the adoption by the Alliance of a policy to require the mandatory vaccination against Covid 19 of its staff and students who will be leading or attending in-person classes as well as staff working in-person at the Alliance. The mandatory vaccination policy will also apply to anyone attending any in-person events at the Alliance headquarters. The main purpose of this policy is to try to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at the Alliance. In addition to the mandatory vaccination requirement, the Alliance will continue to follow and adhere to relevant Centers for Disease Control, or CDC, and local regulatory requirements and recommendations with respect to wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. Although at this time the Alliance does not expect to require those participating in classes, work or events at the Alliance to wear face coverings, it reserves the right to do so in the future. Furthermore, the Alliance permits anyone who so chooses to wear a face covering and will not condone or allow questioning, shaming or bullying of those who choose the extra layer of protection of a mask.
Scope
As noted above, this policy covers all people who will be participating in in-person classes, working in-person, or otherwise attending in-person events at the Alliance.
Dissemination of Policy
In order to give the Alliance community notice of this policy, the Alliance will prominently post this policy on its website, distribute it via its weekly email newsletter, distribute it to all instructors and staff, and display it near the registration desk at the Alliance. Implementing the Policy If registering in-person, the Alliance will require all registrants for in-person classes or events only to show a Covid-19 Proof of Vaccination Card (whether in hard copy or electronic form) to Alliance registration staff. If registering online, the Alliance will require the email of a pdf or gif or similar reproduction of a registrant’s Covid-19 Proof of Vaccination Card. All instructors and staff will also need to show such proof to Alliance staff. No one will be permitted to attend in-person events or teach, study, or work in-person at the Alliance unless that individual complies with this policy. These requirements and this policy will remain in effect until the Alliance believes it is prudent to rescind the policy, at which time 2 the Alliance will communicate the changes broadly through the same channels used to disseminate the policy.
Exemptions
The Alliance is sensitive to the needs of its community and recognizes that there are certain exemptions to this policy that the Alliance will attempt to honor, specifically religious and medical exemptions. If any individual wants to claim an exemption because of a medical reason, please provide the Alliance with a letter from a doctor, physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner verifying the reason for the exemption. The Alliance is not a large organization with unlimited resources. The Alliance will, however, make reasonable efforts to allow instructors or staff to teach or work from home online if they meet one of the two stated exemptions. Likewise, the Alliance will make reasonable efforts to accommodate students who claim a religious or health exemption by providing access to online classes. Please be aware that the Alliance cannot guarantee sufficient enrollment online to provide exempted instructors with an equivalent number, subject or level of classes as they would have had if they were teaching in-person. Similarly, the Alliance cannot guarantee the availability of space in a particular online class or desired subject or proficiency level for exempted students.
Questions
Please address your questions about this policy to the Alliance’s Executive Director.