OPINION: It’s about time that New York’s school mask mandate ended

“It is a tragedy that some of our children have spent most of their young lives hiding behind masks…”

Finally, after years of forced masking in schools, our children can see the smiles of their friends and the faces of their teachers. As New York lifted its school mask mandate [on March 2] our children and parents are relieved. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s unscientific policies have hindered our children’s development, and the decision to roll back the mask mandate is long overdue.

It is a tragedy that some of our children have spent most of their young lives hiding behind masks, and we are only beginning to understand the full impact this has had on their development and mental health. It is even more of a tragedy that this mask mandate was in place for so long and only arbitrarily removed to accommodate the realities of the political calendar.

While this is a win for our kids and families, it is not the end of the fight to restore our freedom over individual medical decisions. Gov. Hochul has waged a war against those who want to exercise these rights, including by firing numerous health-care heroes who chose, for a variety of reasons, not to comply with her draconian vaccine mandate. I will continue to work tirelessly to protect these freedoms, right these wrongs, and ensure our country and state return to a path of principled leadership that safeguards and respects our freedom.       

Rep. Claudia Tenney (R–New Hartford), 61, currently represents the 22nd Congressional District of New York in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district encompasses all of Oneida, Madison, Chenango, and Cortland counties, most of Broome County, and portions of Herkimer, Oswego, and Tioga counties. This article is drawn and edited from a statement that Tenney issued on March 2