The Guilderland Central School District is aware of the recent Nassau County Supreme Court decision striking down the Department of Health’s rule requiring, among other things, masks in schools. The State Education Department issued the following statement:
‘The State Education Department understands that Nassau County Supreme Court has ruled that the Department of Health exceeded its authority in enacting the mask regulation, 10 NYCRR 2.60, in Demetriou et al. v. New York State Dep’t of Health et al. This regulation is the subject of conflicting decisions, insofar as Albany County Supreme Court recently upheld the regulation in Massapequa UFSD et al. v. Hochul, et al.
It is SED’s understanding that the Department of Health will appeal the Nassau County Supreme Court decision, which will result in an automatic stay that will unambiguously restore the mask rule until such time as an appellate court issues a further ruling. Therefore, schools must continue to follow the mask rule.’
Since the issuance of this statement, we have been notified that an appeal has been filed in this case. Therefore, there is an automatic stay and the Guilderland Central School District is legally obligated at this time to continue enforcing the mask requirement in schools, pending the next steps in this litigation. Should the masking requirement change based upon developments in this case or otherwise, we will notify our school community accordingly.