The school mask debate is heating up again, and it’s full of confusion, contradictions and even anger.
Suffolk County is recommending that students wear masks when school resumes, while Nassau County is leaving the decision to each district.
Long Island school leaders are wading through the advice from officials and the opinions of parents to figure out what to do as the delta variant spreads. One superintendent says he is even consulting the school district’s attorneys.
Meanwhile, some doctors say they are angry that New York State has abandoned its role in telling school districts what to do on a critical health issue, and that educators with no background in science or public health have no place making such decisions.
Suffolk County released a statement late Monday saying the county recommends schools follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance stating that students should continue wearing masks when school resumes in the next few weeks.
“Mask guidance remains unchanged from the end of the prior school year in June 2021 consistent with CDC recommendations,” the county said in a statement from Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson H. Pigott and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.
“Per existing CDC guidance, all students, staff, and visitors must wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status. Mask wearing is not required outdoors.”
But in Nassau County, officials are not advising schools on what they should do.
Asked Tuesday what the Nassau’s stance is, County Executive Laura Curran’s office forwarded a statement Curran released on Friday.
“While the State Department of Health seems to have abandoned their responsibility to provide COVID-19 guidance to our school districts, I have been in contact with school administrators and parents to help address any confusion,” Curran said.
“I firmly believe that the decision for masks and other public health protocols in our schools and facilities is best left in the hands of the individual school districts who know their students, faculty, parents and community best.”
Medical experts say they are upset that politicians and school officials are making the decision on a health issue.
Dr. Eve Meltzer Krief, a pediatrician in Huntington who is also a local representative of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said this week that “school district superintendents have no place in making the public health decisions that affect the health and well-being of the children. Those decisions should be made by public health experts and pediatricians.”
She added: “We demand that the school districts mask the children,” a position taken nationwide by the academy.
Asked about criticism of school officials making decisions on public health issues, Curran’s office noted that her statement said: “The Nassau County Department of Health is available to help districts with any questions regarding safety protocols, as they have been during the entirety of the pandemic.”
Last week, New York Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker announced with the state disaster emergency over, “School districts are reestablished as the controlling entity for schools. Schools and school districts should develop plans to open in-person in the fall as safely as possible, and I recommend following guidance from the CDC and local health departments.”
The announcement led to criticism from some, including state Commissioner of Education Betty A. Rosa, who asked Zucker to reconsider, noting the health department has “statutory responsibilities as the state agency devoted to protecting the public health.
Islip School District Superintendent Dennis O’Hara said Tuesday he’s seeking advice from the school district’s physician and attorneys. He’s also disseminating guidance from the CDC as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics and articles related to the virus and the delta variant to the district’s COVID-19 task force.
“The guidance from the Suffolk County is not surprising to me,” he said. “Like the other things I’ve listed, it will factor into our decisions and recommendations.”
With its next school board meeting scheduled for Aug. 24, O’Hara said the district was likely to finalize a plan in the next two weeks.
O’Hara said he’s consulting with school attorneys to understand the legal restrictions on mask mandates.
“We are trying to do everything as safely as possible, right? And you always need to know what the parameters are, like what can a district mandate and what can a district not mandate?” he said.
Some school districts, including Jericho and Roosevelt, have already announced mask requirements for students and staff.
Others have indicated they would make masks optional. They include Commack and Middle Country, which recently wrote the state asking for local control over indoor masking.
“We believe it is time to restore local control to school boards, superintendents and parents,” said a letter from Commack school leaders, dated July 22 and posted on the district’s website.
Other districts including William Floyd and Islip said Tuesday they were still formulating their plans and would announce them soon.
The debate got heated at the end of the last academic year in May and June, with some parents on the Island posting “Unmask Our Kids” signs in their front yards and saying the issue was a matter of personal liberty. Others contended school districts should simply follow the advice of scientists and that the mask opponents have no background in medicine.
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