Parents offer different views on keeping, ditching face coverings

News that Gov. Hochul will maintain a statewide mask mandate for schools until at least the end of the month was met with a mix of relief and exasperation from city parents Wednesday.

Debate over the mask mandate has been escalating as some parents grow increasingly vocal about their frustration with the face-covering requirements, while others maintain it’s too soon to start loosening COVID-19rules.

At Public School 20 in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, parents who spoke to the Daily News Wednesday were split on the mask mandate and Hochul’s decision to keep the state rule in place at least through February break. “I’m happy about that. That should’ve stayed in place,” said Danielle Alvarez, a PS 20 parent. “I feel the kids should still keep the masks on until it’ s totally safe .” Alvarez added that she would’ve had her children continue to wear masks to school even if the mandate was lifted, but would’ve felt less comfortable sending them to school if some classmates were unmasked. But Alex S ill er, also a PS 20 parent, said she thinks masks “should be optional.”

“I do feel like developmentally, socially, emotionally, I think it’s very important for young kids to see their teachers’ faces,” Siller, who has three children at the school, said. She added that she is particularly worried about the effect of face coverings for kids in the school’s French immersion program, who may find it harder to learn the language without seeing their teachers’ mouths.

Even if Hochul does lift the statewide mask mandate, the state could still allow individual districts to make their own decisions about face-covering requirements. The city Education Department instituted its own mask rule at the beginning of the school year, and agency officials have said they’ll say more about their policy if and when the state lifts its requirement.

The governors of New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts all announced in the last week that they were lifting statewide mask rules and leaving the decision up to local districts.

Hochul said Wednesday she’ll consider a variety of factors, including case rates, hospitalizations and vaccinationratesbeforereachingadecision onschoolmasks.

In the meantime, debate among city parents over the mask rules continuestosimmer.

At a virtual meeting Tuesday night oftheCommunityEducationCouncil for Manhattan’s District 2, parents traded arguments over a symbolic resolution calling on the Education Department to lift its mask rules. The resolutionultimatelyfailed.

At PS 20, parents say a school Listserv has been flooded with angry comments about the mask requirementinrecentdays.

“I woke up to a lot of really angry parents messaging the forum,” said oneP.20parent,whosupportsmaintaining the masking rules. The parent askednottobenamed.

For many parents, it’s a question oftiming. IshaTaylor,amember of the the Bronx’s District 10 Community Education Council, said she supported the mask rules initially, but that she and her kids have grown weary of the requirements. “I think that mentally it’s having an impact. For my youngest son, you can tell he’s a lot more tired and fatigued.” But for Monique Gallien, a PS 20 parent, talk of removing the mandate is premature.

“I think things are moving a little too quickly,” she said.