Parents in Chappaqua got the news they wanted on Wednesday night - that the district will go mask-optional once pandemic restrictions ease up.
Parents in the Chappaqua School District used Wednesday night's Board of Education meeting to address these concerns.
Dozens of passionate parents spoke up to urge the district to come up with a plan to make masks optional once the state's mandate runs out.
As COVID-19 cases continue to drop, parents wanted to know when the schools will ease up on pandemic mitigation efforts like mask-wearing.
In Chappaqua, that will come once the state's mandate expires.
"Different families will be making different choices. What I ask is to please not vilify other people's choices especially to your children," said Chappaqua School board member Hilary Grasso.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends everyone wear a mask in school, regardless of vaccination status.
But some parents argue masks are doing more harm than good at this stage of the pandemic.
Psychologist Dr. Alexandra Stratyner says some kids do struggle with masks but adds there's not enough evidence to show it negatively impacts kids as much as parents think.
“Children themselves are very resilient but they learn what to be afraid of because they pick up on things that their family members are afraid of," she says.
For now, school districts have no control over mask requirements with the state's mask mandate in effect until the end of next month.