New York State Education Department: Mask Ruling Update

Received January 24, 2022 (8:30pm)

Nassau County Mask Ruling – Demetriou et al. v. New York State Dep’t of Health et al.

The following statement was sent to all New York State schools: 

“The State Education Department understands that Nassau County Supreme Court has ruled that the Department of Health exceeded its authority in enacting the mask regulation, 10 NYCRR 2.60, in Demetriou et al. v. New York State Dep’t of Health et al.  This regulation is the subject of conflicting decisions, insofar as Albany County Supreme Court recently upheld the regulation in Massapequa UFSD et al. v. Hochul, et al.

It is SED’s understanding that the Department of Health will appeal the Nassau County Supreme Court decision, which will result in an automatic stay that will unambiguously restore the mask rule until such time as an appellate court issues a further ruling.  Therefore, schools must continue to follow the mask rule.”