BUFFALO, N.Y. — If getting the coming school year was an assigned group project, superintendents around New York State have learned their partner will not be participating.
Functionally, that’s what happened Thursday when state health commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker announced it would not produce guidance to help districts put their COVID plans in place. This comes at a time when delta variant cases of the virus are on the rise.
In a brief statement, Dr. Zucker said, “With the end of the state disaster emergency on June 25, 2021, school districts are reestablished as the controlling entity for schools. Schools and school districts should develop plans to open in-person in the fall as safely as possible, and I recommend following guidance from the CDC and local health departments."
For most of two school years, school districts have had a series of mandates clearly outlining when students could be in school, mask wearing, how far apart students needed to be, and other specifics.
Without the guidance, superintendents are cobbling together individualized COVID plans for their districts. Niagara Falls Superintendent Mark Laurrie thinks that’s how it should be.
“Those decisions at this time in this pandemic should be made by local school officials, local boards of education and local superintendents,” Laurrie said.
For at least the start of the school year, Niagara Falls students will be required to wear masks while moving about, such as on a bus, in the hallways, and standing in line at lunch. But when seated, at their desk or in the cafeteria, masks are optional.
Laurrie says he’s comfortable making independent COVID policy decisions because of the daily updates he gets from the Niagara County Health Department, including the current number of cases, where those cases are, and whether they’re in community settings like nursing homes.
In Erie County, health commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein has let county school districts her office with provide at least some guidance.
In a message sent to Erie County school district, Burstein assured them her department was at work, closing the note this way, “We understand the extreme time constraints under which you and your colleagues are working, and we will share our next steps with this group as soon as we can.”
With just a few weeks before some activities begin ahead of the start of the school year, Laurrie recommends parents get in touch with their school administration and building principal to be on the receiving end of updated school COVID rules once district have put the final touches on them.