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WNY schools reveal COVID-19 policies for 2021-22 school year

The New York State Department of Health announced Thursday that it would not be issuing COVID-19 guidance for schools for 2021-22, leaving that up to the schools.

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — The New York State Department of Health confirmed Thursday that it will not issue guidance on re-opening schools.

That responsibility will be left up to each school district.

The New York State Department of Health said Thursday that school districts should develop plans to open in-person in the fall as safely as possible with the recommendation of following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health department guidance.

"I've been advocating for a long time that local municipalities and local school districts should have the autonomy to make these decisions 18 months into this pandemic," Superintendent Mark Laurrie said.

Niagara Falls City School District Superintendent Mark Laurrie is ready to propose to the school board that for this year, students wear masks on buses and in hallways, and they are strongly encouraged to wear them in the classroom. Ultimately, that choice will be left up to families.

"With that guidance, we'll monitor the science, we'll stay in contact with the Niagara County Health Department, we'll watch any trends in the school district, and we'll adjust if we have to," Laurrie said.

He says that could mean stronger mask rules. 

In both Niagara Falls and Hamburg, students will be going back to school five days a week for in-person learning.

"I think generally what you can expect is an opening of school that looks substantially like it did in 2019," Superintendent Michael Cornell said.

Michael Cornell is the Hamburg Central School District Superintendent and the President of The Erie-Niagara School Superintendents Association. Cornell asked the state for guidance for the 2021-22 school year in May, requesting it by June, and it never came.

"We're going to have three feet of physical distance with discretion beyond that. We're going to have full school buses, and we're going to do everything we can to make sure that we do all of those things in the safest possible way because we want our schools to be safe for learning and work," Cornell said.

Cornell says by collaborating with the county health department, most districts will wait to see what's happening with the infection rate closer to the start of the school year before setting certain policies.

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