WNY Students First Issues Statement Regarding Updated CDC School Guidance

WNY Students First believes that the updated guidance regarding social distancing in schools from the CDC is a step in the right direction. The new guidance reflects the importance of in-person instruction for the education and health of children as well as the latest scientific research which shows that there is very little transmission in schools when masks are used and students are separated by three feet.
 
However, the CDC guidance is only relevant to the extent that the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) updates its guidance to allow schools to reopen with three feet of social distancing, and county public health departments and school boards follow any new State guidelines to open schools fully. Indeed, more work is needed to help open schools this spring and return children back to the safest environment possible – the classroom.
 
Below is a summary of the actions that WNY Students First would like to see taken over the next few days in order to help schools reopen fully and safely in the coming weeks.
 
New York State Department of Health

• Given the updated guidance from the CDC, the increased scientific evidence which shows that transmission rates in schools are extremely low when masks are used, the prioritization of teacher vaccinations, and the severe impact that remote/hybrid learning is having on the health of children, we demand that the NYSDOH immediately update its school reopening guidance to allow ALL schools in ALL counties in New York State to reopen fully this spring at three feet of social distancing with the use of masks.
• Any delay in updating the school reopening guidelines will just cause students in New York State more harm. There is absolutely no reason why kids should not be back in school completely this spring given what we now know about the science, the damage that is being done to many children, and the vaccination of staff members.
• It is important that the NYSDOH issue the guidance in a way that does not create confusion, as it did last summer. After initially allowing schools to reopen at either six feet of social distancing OR the use of masks, the NYSDOH inexplicably updated its guidance in a way that gave too much discretion to county officials and unnecessarily prevented many schools across New York State from reopening fully. This cannot happen again.
• This time around, we ask the NYSDOH to choose science over fear, and the health of children over politics. Please send a clear mandate to county officials and school boards that ALL schools should reopen fully this spring with the proper protocols, including three feet of distancing between students and six feet of social distancing between staff members. This does not need to be complicated.

 
County Executives & Health Commissioners

• In the face of mounting scientific evidence regarding the safety of schools and the damage that remote instruction is having on the health and well-being of children, our county leaders have chosen to ignore the NYSDOH guidelines which clearly have allowed schools in Erie and Niagara Counties to reopen fully since September with the use of masks and barriers.
• Contrary to their public statements, our county officials are not following NYSDOH guidance. Dr. Burstein and Mr. Stapleton have had the ability, and legal obligation, to follow NYSDOH guidelines completely, and not selectively, by allowing schools to reopen at less than six feet of distancing between students with the use of masks and barriers. Our county officials need to be held accountable for not following NYSDOH guidance to the letter of the law and arbitrarily and unnecessarily harming children in Western New York by preventing schools from reopening fully with the use of masks and barriers.
• Officials in several counties in New York State have allowed schools to reopen fully with the use of masks and barriers, consistent with current NYSDOH guidance. Students in Western New York are being treated unfairly by our county officials.
• Our understanding is that many superintendents in Western New York have asked county public health officials for clarification regarding the potential use of barriers given the NYSDOH guidance which clearly allows schools to use three feet of social distancing if masks and barriers are used. Dr. Burstein and Mr. Stapleton have chosen to ignore this important provision and, in so doing, have created their own de facto guidance which now stands in contrast to the current NYSDOH and CDC guidelines.
• Given the new guidance from the CDC, along with the existing guidelines from the NYSDOH, we demand that our county officials update their school guidance immediately to allow ALL schools to reopen fully this spring with the use of masks and barriers. Students and families should not be forced to wait for updated guidance from the NYSDOH when the existing guidelines allow schools to be reopened fully today with the use of masks and barriers.
• When the NYSDOH does update its guidance, WNY Students First expects our public health experts to follow it this time. We cannot allow our county officials to continue to place petty, local political agendas over science and the health of our children.

 
School Boards & Superintendents

• WNY Students First demands that school boards and superintendents do the work necessary to fully and safely reopen schools this spring once the NYSDOH guidance is updated or the county officials revise their flawed “interpretation” of existing State guidelines. Kids have waited long enough.
• School boards, including Buffalo Public Schools, have a legal obligation to provide all children with an equitable, in-person education and they cannot be allowed to overrule the guidance provided by our public health experts once it is changed. There is absolutely no scientific basis to deny students their right to an education by arbitrarily requiring more than three feet of distancing between kids when the guidance is updated. Science no longer supports this position, and it never did.
• Delaying full in-person instruction until the fall is both immoral and potentially illegal. School boards should follow the advice of the health experts and create a plan that allows students to return to school while adhering to the State guidelines.
• School districts should be reviewing design plans immediately to reflect the new guidance, begin the process of communicating with all stakeholders, including families, and prepare for the return to full in-person instruction this spring.

 
WNY Students First is calling on our leaders at all levels, State, County, and local, to follow the science and work together to fully and safely reopen schools as soon as possible this spring.
 
WNY Students First