“Yesterday, Gov. Hochul announced the expiration of her already-legally questionable school mask mandate. Students are set to unmask this Wednesday, March 2. Families and students who wish to continue masking up will be perfectly free to do so. Our push to unmask the kids was never anti-mask, it was anti-mandate.

“For the first time, a 2^nd grade student will be able to experience some normalcy in the classroom. They will be able to see the smiles and facial expressions of their peers. The negative effects of mask mandates have been felt on socialization and learning levels for far too long.

“While this is welcome news from the governor, we must continue to push. We must make sure this sort of unilateral rule that has dictated the lives of so many young people is never allowed to happen again.”