Parents are
speaking up about continued masks mandates, especially in the classroom, across
the Hudson Valley.
Dozens of parents spoke out at Wednesday's school
board meeting in Chappaqua urging the district to lay out a plan once masking
is no longer required.
COVID-19 numbers are
steadily dropping and New York's indoor mask mandate is set to expire next week
on Feb. 1.
The CDC still recommends
everyone wear a mask in school regardless of vaccination status.
But they also recently
admitted that the most commonly worn cloth masks, the same ones the CDC
recommended in the early days of the pandemic, do not offer as much protection as N95 and KN95 masks.
Some parents argue that
masks are doing more harm than good at this stage of the pandemic.
Psychologist Dr. Alexandra Stratyner says some kids do struggle with masks but
adds there's not enough evidence to show it negatively impacts kids as much as
parents think. "Children themselves are very resilient but they learn what
to be afraid of because they pick up on things that their family members are
afraid of," she says.
While Chappaqua school officials say the district
will go mask optional once the mandate has expired, they want to make sure
people's decisions are respected. "Different families will be
making different choices. What I ask is to please not vilify other people's
choices especially to your children," said Chappaqua school board
member Hilary Grasso.
School districts do not have control over mask
requirements with the state's mask mandate in effect.
So far, Gov. Kathy Hochul has not said whether or
not she will extend the mask mandate when it expires next week.