Fed-up parents form statewide group to advocate for unmasking all students
A statewide partnership is calling on Gov. Cuomo to lift mask mandates in schools.
The group, New York Statewide Non-Partisan Parents for Science in Schools, is made up of parents, teachers, caregivers and school district stakeholders from New York City to Western New York, who said it is time to let students pre-k through 12th grade attend school without a mask.
On May 19, the state of New York removed mask mandates for fully vaccinated adults, which applies to about 49% of the state’s population.
With schools now offering some form of in-person instruction, NYS Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker announced students could remove their masks on Monday, June 7, but on Sunday, June 6, the announcement was reversed by the NYS Department of Education.
"I have two young children, a first-grader and a fifth-grader, and they do find it difficult to spend five to six hours a day in school masked," said group member and parent Natalya Murakhver of New York City.
The group said masks should be a choice for students.