NY State Will Not Issue Back to School COVID-19 Guidance

If you've been waiting to receive communication from your local school district regarding COVID-19 policies and procedures, it's likely because they've been waiting for guidance from the state. Today, it was discovered that they won't be receiving it at all.

According to CNY Central, the Council of Superintendents said they were advised by the governor's office that guidance for the upcoming school year will not be sent out to New York school districts before classes begin.

Last year, the New York State Health Department sent out their guidance to administrators on July 13. Districts have been waiting to hear before they sent out anything to parents.

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A statement was released by Howard Zucker, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health:

With the end of the state disaster emergency on June 25, 2021, 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 the local health departments.

The CDC released reversed guidance to the public at the end of July, advising that all individuals (vaccinated or not) should wear a mask in public within the zones of "substantial" and "high" transmission rates. That same day, they suggested masks within school districts should be "embraced" and that children should be returning to school in the fall with "proper prevention strategies in place."

Now that schools know they are responsible for creating their own policies and procedures related to the virus, it is suggested that families will receive guidance from individual districts soon.

Mask mandates have not been put into place by Governor Cuomo as of today. Last week, he said he would not be signing anything into law - and that individual counties would be responsible for putting a mask mandate into place if there was to be one. They are also responsible for enforcing it, if it happens.

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