Mandate Masks In Classrooms: NY Teachers Union

NEW YORK — A teachers union wants state health officials to step in to make the use of masks during in-class instruction mandatory everywhere in New York. The New York State United Teachers sent a letter Thursday to Dr. Howard Zucker, New York's health commissioner, urging him to mandate statewide that masks be worn at all times when schools are open to in-person student instruction.

The union equates the use of masks with the statewide requirement to use social distancing.

"Unfortunately, as the beginning of the school year nears and districts continue working out their reopening plans with parents and teachers, we are seeing disparate mask policies that are not leaving parents or educators confident in the safety of their district's plans," wrote Andy Pallotta, president of New York State United Teachers.

He cited the Watkins Glen school district, whose policy is for masks being mandatory only when students are moving or when social distancing can't be maintained, such as passing in the hallways — not during classroom instruction.

During a news conference, Pallotta explained everyone wants schools to reopen and school districts need to get it right.

"Mistakes can cost lives," he said, adding that decisions must be driven by the best and latest science.

Dr. Jana Shaw, a pediatrician specializing in infectious diseases at Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital in Syracuse, said the current science is clear that masks are among the most effective ways to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

"Some schools believe that masks are not important," she said during the news conference. "The guidance should be very clear it's not an option."

Shaw's only concern is how schools would enforce the mask mandate, especially with children of different ages.

She recommended offering the students "mask breaks" in controlled environments such as outdoors, where there's an extremely low risk for transmission, or in a situation where the student has a reading assignment and is by themselves. There could also be mask breaks when a student is eating or using the restroom.

Brandon Johnson, a parent of two children and a teacher in the Horseheads school district, said during the news conference that he doesn't feel his district has taken adequate steps to address the issue.

"Simply put, making it mandatory that masks be worn throughout the school day would make me feel all the more confident that sending my children back to their classrooms is a safe option," he said.

Johnson said he and his wife, who is also a teacher, have done much to distance their family from loved ones and others, including having allowed his children to visit their grandmother only once since the beginning of the pandemic.

He said he doesn't want to "make our own children unwitting spreaders of this disease."

Diana Vanyo, president of the Argyle Teachers Association, said her district adopted a "masks on the move" policy, but masks will not be required in classrooms.

She said that makes it difficult to teach in a classroom. If a teacher is stuck in a corner of the classroom behind a plexiglass shield, they can't be as effective, Vanyo said.

"We as educators feel this is an unsafe policy," she said.

In his letter to Zucker, Pallotta referenced Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who said that schools can't reopen without students and educators.

"At this stage in the process, any step that will help the parents who would send their children to school and teachers who will staff schools feel more confident in their district's reopening plans merits not just serious consideration, but immediate action," he wrote.