Phoenix private school Brophy Prep to require COVID-19 vaccination, masks

PHOENIX – Starting next month, students, teachers and staff at an esteemed private school in Phoenix will need to have proof of vaccination or submit semiweekly negative COVID-19 tests for in-person learning.

Brophy Prep, a Catholic school in the central part of the city, also informed parents in a letter Wednesday that masks will be required indoors at all times when classes begin Monday. That restriction will be lifted Sept. 10.

Masks outdoors are optional, the school said.

A law banning Arizona schools from requiring masks was passed in June as part of a state budget bill. It goes into effect Sept. 28, but private schools are excluded.

The school is not offering a hybrid-learning option.

“Over the last six months, it has become increasingly clear that the most effective way to contain the spread of the virus is to have a vaccinated community. Therefore, effective September 13, every student, teacher, and staff member will need to have proof of vaccination on file with the school or get tested for COVID regularly,” Principal Bob Ryan’s letter read.

He added that also as of Monday, for the foreseeable future, any student who participated in overnight retreats or school-related travel away from the Valley “will be required to have proof of vaccine on file.”

Ryan said the school will continue to follow guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on isolation and quarantine, meaning students who test positive for the disease that is resurging in Arizona must stay home for 10 days.

Unvaccinated students who come in close contacts of a positive COVID case must quarantine.

“Last year, our community faithfully wore masks each day not because the mask provided personal protection but because it protected others, and we ask for that same kind of care and diligence when it comes to getting vaccinated,” Ryan wrote.

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