Expect some confusion and maybe even some chaos at some schools around New York State tomorrow. Why?
Because a State Supreme Court Judge on Long Island today issued a ruling that threw out the state's public indoor mask mandate.
But then, the State Education Department said "hold on" and sent a notice to school officials that they should ignore the ruling while the state appeals it and that the mask rule is still in effect.
Kudos to Monticello and Liberty school districts for quickly posting on their Facebook pages tonight about the ruling by the court and the subsequent statement by the Education Department.
But it's not fair that school officials, teachers, staff, parents and children, especially, have to deal with conflicting information on such short notice with four more school days to go this week.
Maybe going forward, judges should be instructed by the State Office of Court Administration to issue critical decisions that impact schools only on Fridays, whenever possible.
That way anyone connected to the school has some breathing room to get the information out to the community over the weekend, making for a smoother transition the following week.
Surely this decision could have waited a few more days to ease the burden on all concerned.
School officials and the communities they serve have gone through enough stress the past two years with COVID. They deserve more respect and empathy from our state's court system, health department, education department and Executive Chamber for starters.
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