Mask Mandates Back On in New York Schools After State Appeals
New York Schools Grapple With Mask Mandates After Legal Ruling
(Bloomberg) -- Some New York school districts abandoned mask mandates after a Long Island judge declared them unconstitutional Monday. By the end of Tuesday, they were told to put the requirement back in place.
Nassau Supreme Court Judge Thomas Rademaker ruled that the state’s health commissioner lacked legal authority to issue her Dec. 10 mask-wearing regulation, citing the state Legislature’s decision to curtail the emergency powers bestowed on the executive branch during the pandemic.
However, New York Governor Kathy Hochul filed a notice to appeal the ruling, and on Tuesday judge Robert J. Miller temporarily stayed Rademaker’s order until a Friday hearing in which the two sides will argue whether the state can continue enforcing the mask mandate during the appeal. That means that school districts must keep the mask mandate in place for the time being.
The ruling marks the latest whipsaw for parents seeking to navigate the pandemic with school-age children. State education commissioner Betty Rosa acknowledged the burden, and thanked school communities for “their patience during this process.”
Some schools, including the Long Island districts of Bellmore-Merrick Central High, Glen Cove and Massapequa, had made mask-wearing optional on Monday.
Other school districts said they would maintain mask rules until the issue wound its way through court.
The court ruling has little effect in New York City, the state’s largest school district, due to a mandatory masking policy that has been in place since before the state adopted its mandate. Mayor Eric Adams advised kids and workers to keep wearing masks in a television interview on NY1 on Tuesday.
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