Student COVID tests after winter break will inform decision on school mask mandate, Hochul says

Removing the school mask mandate on March 7 is "a very strong possibility," Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday, after announcing that COVID-19 test kits will be given to students so they can test twice in the first week after they return from the winter break later this month.

Public school students statewide are scheduled to be on break the week of Monday, Feb. 21, and are scheduled to return to school the following Monday, Feb. 28. "So after this break, parents will have test kits for their children. We want them to test the day after they come back" and then three days later, Hochul said.

By Friday, March 4, Hochul said, the results — along with metrics including positivity rates, case numbers and hospital admissions — will help inform her decision on whether to extend or drop the mask mandate for schools.

"We'll look at that combined picture," she said. "There will not be one number that says 'yes or no.' There's going to be an assessment of all these factors that have … guided us to the decision we made today."

Hochul faced a renewed round of pressure this week from those calling for an end to the mask mandate as neighboring states New Jersey and Connecticut announced plans to lift theirs in the coming weeks.

"It's insane overreach. Every state around us has already announced that they're lifting their mandates," said Claudia Worley, a mother of two who’s announced her plan to run for the school board in West Islip.

"It's time," she said. "The kids have been subjected to this for two years — more than the adults. And it's disgusting. It's time for the kids to be unmasked."

Nathan Stange, of Rockville Centre, took no issue with the state’s approach. The father of two elementary schoolchildren said he’s preferred to err on the side of caution throughout the pandemic and felt comfortable following the state’s guidance.

"I'm not aggrieved about a cautious approach," he said. "If the state has determined that from a public health standpoint, it is safe to have the kids in school unmasked, then I'm supportive of that."

Hochul didn’t specify whether the tests would be mandatory, or how the test results will be reported, though every school district is required to report COVID-19 test results for students, teachers and staff to the state daily.

"The state is providing a resource for the parents," said Robert Dillon, district superintendent for Nassau BOCES. "It's up to the parents … to check on the health of their kids and utilize the resources provided by the state."

Dillon said it’s up to the districts to set up distribution plans for their students. Unlike late December when tests were hard to come by, Dillon said he doesn’t anticipate a supply issue for testing needs in schools following the winter break.

After receiving more than 420,000 test kits for Long Island students days before school reopened Jan. 3, BOCES leaders said they have continued to get weekly shipments from the state and distribute them to local districts.

The school mask mandate had been scheduled to expire on Feb. 21, the day winter break begins.

"I think every day we are much closer to lifting the mandate," Dillon said. "When? I don't know. But every day that the numbers go down, it looks more and more promising."

Tonie McDonald, president of the Nassau County Council of School Superintendents, and Yiendhy Farrelly, president of Suffolk County School Superintendents Association, said in a statement Wednesday that districts will continue to have kits available to families in the weeks ahead.

"Nassau and Suffolk school superintendents appreciate the state's effort in providing these tests and are looking forward to receiving specific metrics that will specify when universal masking expires for schools," the statement read.

With Bart Jones

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