March 2023

To attend AERA’s 2023 Annual Meeting in person (in Chicago, April 13–16), all participants, except those with a medically documented condition or a personal attestation of religious reasons, must have up-to-date vaccination and at least one booster (if eligible). All participants must verify their vaccination or exemption through SafeAccess, the vendor responsible for verifying the vaccination status of registrants.

The current vaccination policy, originally adopted in November 2021 and modified in March 2023, aims to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all attendees, hotel staff, and related services employees who support the AERA Annual Meeting.

Those already registered should have received a personalized email invitation from SafeAccess to verify their vaccination status, including appropriate information if they are seeking an exemption.

AERA encourages those attending the Chicago meeting with U.S. and non-U.S. vaccination cards who have not yet registered to do so and to go through the SafeAccess process of verifying their status in advance. SafeAccess will also have staff on site in Chicago to review the vaccination status required to obtain a badge and gain access to the Annual Meeting. Non-registrants can register on-site in Chicago. But it will expedite the process to register and verify vaccination status beforehand.

After attendees register for the meeting, they are contacted by SafeAccess. Registrants should then:

1. Accept the personalized invitation to SafeAccess that they receive via email. If an email has not been received, they should check their spam folder/filter.
2. Set up a password for their security and privacy.
3. View the health and safety policies and provide their responses, which may include document uploads for verification.

There is no app to download. Once registrants have completed the steps above, they will receive a message says “pending” (if documents need to be reviewed), or “granted” (if no reviews are necessary). It takes 1–2 business days for records to be reviewed in the SafeAccess system.

SafeAccess registrants will receive a Digital Health Pass via email when their review has been completed. They can return to the site at any time to check their status by clicking here—SafeAccess—and selecting “BADGE” or “STATUS.” All data are stored by a secure, HIPAA-compliant cloud service, and will not be used for any purpose other than as required for the AERA 2023 Annual Meeting.

If registrants did not receive SafeAccess invitations, they should email registration@aera.net.