January 25, 2022
A state supreme court judge has ruled that Governor Kathy Hochul’s mask mandate is unconstitutional.
The judge said that because the emergency powers were not in effect when the mask mandate was issued, the governor did not have the right to impose the mask mandate.
After the state judge ruled against the mask mandate, the governor put out a statement saying that she strongly disagree with this ruling, and she is pursuing every option to reverse this immediately.
Click here for more from Fox News.
From Canisteo-Greenwood School Superintendent Tom Crook:
Good morning, late yesterday the Supreme Court of Nassau County ruled that the mask mandate imposed by the NYS Department of Health is unconstitutional and was reported all over the news. This is the opposite of a recent ruling in the Albany County Supreme Court which upheld the mask mandate. In a message from the State Department of Education (NYSED), it is their understanding that the NYS Department of Health will appeal the decision first thing this morning, which will result in an automatic stay that will restore the mask mandate until such time as an appellate court can issue a further ruling. Therefore, schools must continue to follow the mask rule.
NYSED oversees the Canisteo-Greenwood Central School District and we must follow their direction until we are told otherwise. Our attorney has advised us that we follow NYSED’s direction to continue to follow the mask rule until it is fought out in court.
I understand your frustration and it is heartbreaking to think that our kids and staff are once again caught in the middle of these flip-flop court decisions. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, this is extremely complicated and I ask that you remain patient with us until we hear more from the state today.
If you have any concerns or questions, please reach out to me personally at tcrook@cgcsd.org.
Yours in service,
Tom
