Byram Hills School District Ends Mask Requirement After Ruling

ARMONK, NY — Byram Hills School District administrators said on Tuesday they no longer have the authority to require masks in classrooms.

UPDATE: Tuesday evening, a New York Appellate Court Judge granted a stay of the earlier court ruling that blocked New York's COVID-19 face mask mandate. The emergency face mask order remains in effect while the case is appealed. New York Schools will be required to enforce the face mask rules.

SEE: Stay Granted, School Mask Mandate In Effect

"The NYSED Commissioner has indicated that masks are still required in schools," Superintendent Jen Lamia told families in Tuesday's notice. "Until we receive further legal notification regarding a Nassau Supreme Court decision, I am asking that individuals continue to wear masks. Anyone who does not wear a mask during this time will not be questioned."

According to Monday's decision by Judge Thomas Rademaker, the law was "promulgated and enacted unlawfully by an executive branch state agency and therefore void and unenforceable as a matter of law."

The decision also said that it does not "opine on the efficacy, need or requirement of masks as a means or tool in dealing with the COVID-19 virus." The issue is only whether or not the rule was properly enacted, the decision said.

Meanwhile, the New York State Department of Education (NYSDE) sent a letter to districts, advising schools that they must keep mask requirements in place in a letter dated Jan. 24:

"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," the NYSDE wrote in the letter. "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."

Byram Hills school officials said that while it believes its authority to enforce mask rules is restricted for the time being, the situation remains fluid.

"We will continue to monitor this changing situation and inform the community if that occurs," the superintendent wrote to students and families today. "Until then, please follow the mask message above. Let's continue the respectful dialogue with which we began this journey."