Fueled by the increasing availability of the COVID-19 vaccine and a continued decline in the rate of infections, the Nassau County Legislative Majority is calling on New York State leaders to lift restrictions and allow individual districts full discretion to decide when to safely restore extracurricular activities and other school events that have been dormant during the pandemic.
In a March 8, 2021 letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, all 11 members of the Nassau’s Majority delegation pointed out the aggressive measures school districts have put in place to keep students, teachers and staff safe and expressed confidence that school boards and administrators will make the right choices in determining when and how to resume events in their individual districts.
“School districts throughout Nassau County have done a tremendous job following the New York State guidelines and have continued to work closely with the Nassau County Health Department throughout the onset of the pandemic,” said Legislator James Kennedy. “They have proven themselves to be responsible addressing the challenges posed by COVID-19 and deserve the opportunity to begin the process of re-establishing school experiences such as graduation ceremonies and other activities that are so important to students and their families.”
In early February, in response to the positive response schools have demonstrated toward dealing with the virus, Nassau County began allowing student athletes to participate in high risk sports. Recently, Suffolk County started permitting two spectators per participant to attend school sporting events.