New York Judge Blocks State Mask Mandate, but Education Department Has Other Plans

Masked students line up in the morning at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 in New York City on Sept. 27, 2021. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

After a state Supreme Court judge struck down New York’s mask mandate on Monday evening, the state’s Department of Education said that schools have to continue to follow the mandate.

“It is [the department’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,” the Education Department said in a statement to local media outlets. "Therefore, schools must continue to follow the mask rule.”