January 26, 2022
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-NY) office is already fielding phone calls and complaints from concerned parents who have no idea what’s going on with mask mandates. The New York Supreme Court said the mandate was illegal, but Governor Kathy Hochul says hold the line.
Stefanik released a statement on the matter, blasting Hochul and her “far-left” DOE:
My office is answering calls from constituents – specifically, parents who are informing us that their kids are being kept from entering schools unless they are wearing masks.
Kathy Hochul and her Far-Left Department of Education are lying to Superintendents causing unnecessary confusion. There is no stay on this court ruling. Kathy Hochul’s authoritarian mandate was deemed illegal by NY Supreme Court. Masks are not mandatory for students, period. Yet Kathy Hochul is still trying to force young children to wear a mask in school, shamefully disregarding the rule of law.
Any parent or student that is told they cannot attend school in the North Country if they do not wear a mask due to the illegal mandate, please contact my office. As a senior member of the House Education and Labor Committee, I will hold the New York State Department of Education accountable.
The New York Supreme Court ruling was made earlier this week by Judge Thomas Rademaker of Nassau County; he says the governor doesn’t have the authority to impose the mandate.
Read the full article here.