Port Washington School Board To Keep Mask Mandate In Place

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — Amid a legal back and forth over New York State's indoor mask mandate, the Port Washington Board of Education has decided to continue requiring face coverings in schools until Feb. 1.

The school board's decision on Tuesday came one day after a Long Island judge ruled that Gov. Kathy Hochul's mask mandate was unconstitutional. That ruling has since been struck down by an appellate court judge, who reinstated the mask-wearing requirement.

An appellate court hearing on Friday could determine what happens next in this increasingly confusing and frustrating legal battle.

Until then, the mask mandate is back in effect, and "we are left in a little bit of limbo," according to school district attorney Howard Miller.

"As we heard from our attorneys, we actually have no choice but to continue the mandate because it has been put into effect. It's still going," said school board president Emily Beys.

Regardless of what happens in court on Friday, school board trustee Rachel Gilliar said that the board should decide whether to keep the rules in place until Feb. 1 "so that we can figure things out in an orderly way and give our administrators time to plan."

Ultimately, the board agreed to keep the rules in place until the meeting on Feb. 1.