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By Lora Korpar
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Some New York schools are left torn, according to the Associated Press, on how to move forward after a judge ruled to strike down a statewide face mask mandate, but the state education department made steps to appeal it.
Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Thomas Rademaker decided Monday Governor Kathy Hochul and Health Commissioner Mary Bassett overstepped their bounds in December by implementing a mandate requiring all residents to wear face masks in public spaces when New York was no longer in a state of emergency, CNN reported.
Rademaker called the mandate "a law that was promulgated and enacted unlawfully by an executive branch state agency, and therefore void and unenforceable," according to the AP.
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In response, the New York State Education Department announced its intention to appeal the decision, which would keep it in place until February 1, its intended expiration date.
"The Governor and State [Department of Health] have filed a Notice of Appeal and are seeking confirmation that the Court's order is stayed. While these legal steps occur, it is NYSED's position that schools should continue to follow the mask rule," department spokesperson Emily DeSantis said in a statement sent to Newsweek.
CNN obtained a statement the education department sent to schools Monday night. It said schools "must continue to follow the mask rule" because of this appeal.
However, the responses from New York schools have been mixed, with some choosing to follow the judge's ruling and others following the education department's statement.
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The Massapequa School District wrote on its website "While it is certain [the judge's] decision will face legal challenges, until otherwise litigated, mask wearing will be optional for students and staff in the Massapequa Schools" starting Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Long Island Herald reported the superintendents of Hewlett-Woodmere and Lawrence school districts said their districts would continue to require masks indoors as the legal proceedings continue.
WABC-TV wrote Friday Hochul predicted schools would not enforce mask-wearing once the mandates were no longer in place.
"That's actually what we expect," she said. "When the state mandate lapses, I expect all school districts will say, 'We don't have to do this anymore.'"
The report says the state's COVID-19 positivity rate has dropped to 9.75—the first time it has been below 10 percent in at least a month.
Hochul told the news station there was a 66.6 percent drop in new cases across the state in the past two weeks, going from 90,000 to 28,296. She added, however, her administration is not "letting our foot off the pedal until we can declare we are in a place we can manage without all the restrictions."
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