School Opening & COVID Updates
Please note: the plan will remain fluid and may shift based on government mandates and infection rates.
UPDATE August 27, 2021
Effective immediately, in accordance with the Commissioner’s Determination issued pursuant to 10 NYCRR 2.60, any person over the age of 2 (including all students, personnel, teachers, administrators, contractors, and visitors) must wear masks at all times indoors in P-12 school buildings, regardless of vaccination status. People with medical or developmental conditions that prevent them from wearing a mask may be exempted from mask requirements, as documented by a medical provider. People do not need to wear masks when eating, drinking, singing, or playing a wind instrument; when masks are removed for these purposes, individuals must be spaced six feet apart (to the extent possible). All mask requirements must be applied consistently with any state and federal law (e.g. Americans with Disabilities Act). The Three Village Central School District Opening Plan has been updated accordingly.
Please be aware that NYSDOH is applying CDC guidance with regard to distancing. As stated in the guidance, “Because of the importance of in-person learning, schools should implement physical distancing to the extent possible within their structures but should not exclude students from in-person learning to keep a minimum distance requirement.”
Important Updates on COVID-19
- *Please see this important message from the NYS Center for School Health* - January 25, 2022
"On Monday, the State Supreme Court in Nassau County struck down mask mandates put in place via regulation. While it covers many different places where mask mandates are in effect, including in public spaces, the primary question that is likely to come from this ruling involves K-12 schools.
The State is appealing the decision and will seek an emergency injunction to stay the Court’s order. Until these legal steps occur, we strongly support NYSED’s position on continued masking in schools.
NYSDOH and NYSED indoor masking policy aligns with positions of several authorities—such as the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics—that are designed to prevent COVID spread in schools and communities. People in schools who are unmasked are ineligible for test-to-stay and face stricter quarantine standards. These novel programs were put in place because strict adherence to mitigation measures like masking have helped make schools safer places compared to most general community settings that lack such measures. Any removal of these mitigation measures increases the potential for viral spread, leading to widespread quarantine and possibly forcing school closures.
We will continue to keep you updated on the process of appeals and/or stays to this ruling, and its impact on K-12 schools, public spaces, and other places where masking was required."
COVID-19 Notification Letters