Massapequa Won't Mandate Masks For Students This Year

MASSAPEQUA, NY — The Massapequa School Districts 2021-22 reopening plan, which will not require masks for students in classrooms, was met with cheers from parents at a Board of Education Meeting Wednesday night.

The district's policy will not require masks for students in schools, but they will be strongly recommended. Masks will be required on school buses and other places where three-foot social distancing cannot be maintained.

In announcing the decision, the district cited the case numbers in Massapequa and Massapequa Park, as well as the district's summer program. The programs across the district had 1,000 or more students every week for six weeks, Superintendent Lucille Iconis said, and there were nine confirmed cases among students and staff.

"What I can tell you is that there was no spread within those camps," Iconis said. "I can tell you that confidently because we watched that very, very closely."

The district's reopening plan eases most of the coronavirus restrictions that were in place for the last school year. All classes will be in-person this year. Remote instruction will only be available for children who are quarantined at home. There also won't be daily health checks, but positive cases will be reported to the county Department of Health.

Plastic shields will be removed from students' desks, but will still be in use in lunchrooms, for small group instruction and for art, science and other spaces.

Visitors will be allowed into buildings, but on a limited bases. They will also be required to wear masks.

The district will be maintaining its enhanced cleaning procedures this year, and will also be using air conditioning in classrooms to facilitate ventilation.

The decision not to mandate masks is contrary to CDC guidelines, which says that in areas where the delta variant is spreading (which includes Nassau County), even vaccinated people should wear masks while indoors.

However, the district's decision on masking may not last very long. Lieutenant Gov. Kathy Hochul, who will replace Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Aug. 24, said that she would like to see masks mandated in schools.