Governor Ducey Issues Executive Order To Protect Access To Arizona Public Universities

PHOENIX - Governor Doug Ducey today issued an Executive Order protecting access to Arizona's public universities and community colleges for all students.

Under the Executive Order, students cannot be mandated to take the COVID-19 vaccine or submit COVID-19 vaccination documents. Students also cannot be mandated to be tested or wear masks in order to participate in learning.

The Executive Order provides exemptions for students participating in medical or clinical training. It does not prevent institutions of higher learning from encouraging vaccinations, providing testing or having voluntary mask usage, consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control.

'The vaccine works, and we encourage Arizonans to take it. But it is a choice and we need to keep it that way,' said Governor Ducey. 'Public education is a public right, and taxpayers are paying for it. We need to make our public universities available for students to return to learning. They have already missed out on too much learning. From K-12 to higher education, Arizona is supporting in-person learning.'

Governor Ducey will be working with legislative leadership and Senator T.J. Shope to codify today's Executive Order into law.

Arizona has administered 6,201,598 COVID-19 vaccine doses to date, with 3,006,771 Arizonans fully vaccinated against the virus.

View the Executive Order HERE.

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