Modification of Vaccination Policy—AERA 2023 Annual Meeting


2023 Annual Meeting 
Home
Registration
Housing | Travel
Program Information
Meeting Policies and
Support Services
Exhibits | Sponsorship
Advertising | Affiliates 
Key Dates | FAQ

Modification of Vaccination Policy

AERA wishes to announce that, in a special session on Monday, March 6, 2023, the AERA Executive Board modified the AERA vaccination policy with respect to medical and religious exemptions. The Board sought to be responsive to bona fide requests that would preclude registrants with such constraints from participating at the forthcoming place-based component of the 2023 Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Prior to the Board’s recent modification, the COVID-19 vaccination policy for the 2023 AERA Annual Meeting read as follows: All attendees must have up-to-date vaccination and at least one booster to attend in person (if eligible). Mask wearing is strongly encouraged, but not required, in common areas. We expect attendees will be unmasked while eating or drinking. Mutual respect and health and safety remain priority goals.

The Executive Board adopted changes to the vaccination policy through two resolutions that were both adopted unanimously on March 6:

  1. Attendees with documented medical conditions shall be exempt from the AERA vaccination policy and shall be required to mask while onsite at the Annual Meeting except for when engaged in eating or drinking.
  2. Attendees whose religious convictions do not permit vaccinations shall be exempt from the vaccination policy upon providing an attestation of their conviction and shall be required to mask while onsite at the Annual Meeting except for when engaged in eating or drinking.

SafeAccess, contracted by AERA to implement the vaccination policy, will require the following to implement these exemptions:

  • In the case of medical exemptions, registrants will need to provide SafeAccess with a letter on appropriate medical or health provider letterhead signed by the medical provider stipulating that the registrant due to health conditions cannot be vaccinated or boosted for COVID-19.
  • In the case of religious exemptions, registrants will need to provide SafeAccess with a signed letter of attestation by the registrant stipulating that for religious reasons they cannot be vaccinated or boosted for COVID-19.
  • Those seeking medical or religious exemptions must include in their uploaded material a statement of agreement to mask while onsite at the Annual Meeting except for when engaged in eating or drinking.

For general questions about the 2023 Annual Meeting, email annualmtg@aera.net; for questions about the implementation of the AERA vaccination policy, please email support@safeaccess.app.

AERA Vaccination Policy
2023 Annual Meeting
As revised by the AERA Executive Board
March 6, 2023

All attendees at the place-based component of the 2023 AERA Annual Meeting in Chicago must have up-to-date vaccination and at least one booster to attend in person (if eligible). Mask wearing is strongly encouraged, but not required except as noted below, in common areas. We expect attendees will be unmasked while eating or drinking. Mutual respect and health and safety remain priority goals.

The following two categories of attendees are exempt from the policy as determined by the information they provide.

  1. Attendees with documented medical conditions shall be exempt from the AERA vaccination policy and shall be required to mask while onsite at the Annual Meeting except for when engaged in eating or drinking.
  2. Attendees whose religious convictions do not permit vaccinations shall be exempt from the vaccination policy upon providing an attestation of their conviction and shall be required to mask while onsite at the Annual Meeting except for when engaged in eating or drinking.