At a press conference this afternoon, Governor Hochul announced the end of the mask mandate in schools, effective Wednesday, March 2. The Governor cited declining metrics for making this decision, including a decrease in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, as well as new guidance from the CDC on Friday. As indicated by the Governor, there may also be additional guidance for schools at the county level.
As was communicated on Friday, the Board of Education placed a resolution on the agenda for tomorrow night’s Board of Education meeting that stated the Board would follow the guidance from the State and not mandate masks if and when the State ended the mandate. The Board did this in an effort to be responsive to the community and to eliminate any doubt from the community regarding where they stood as a Board. The Board intended to approve the resolution tomorrow night.
Given the significant developments over the weekend, the Board has decided to remove the resolution from the agenda and announce this evening that the District will follow the guidance, which means masks will be optional effective Wednesday. APCSD will not extend or continue the mask mandate. Please note that, based on the CDC guidance change, this means masks will not be mandated on buses as well.
Masks will be a personal choice in our schools. Throughout the last two years, our student body has handled themselves very well at all levels. It is our expectation and belief that, once again, our students and staff will rise to the occasion and practice civility and tolerance toward each other regarding personal choice in the wearing of masks.
Thank you for your continued patience, cooperation and understanding.