Governor Lamont announced today with Public Health Commissioner Juthani and Education Commissioner Russel Tucker their decision to end the statewide school mask mandate on February 28, 2022. As of the 28th, the Governor will allow the decision to enforce mask mandates in schools to be determined by the local school district. But, if Executive Order 9-1 is passed by the CT General Assembly, the ultimate authority will still reside with Governor Lamont in consultation with DPH and Education Commissioners.
State Senator Tony Hwang issued this statement in response to the announcement:
“My heartfelt gratitude and admiration go out to local parents for their hard fought efforts. They have been passionate advocates for their children’s educational and social emotional development! Even in the face of mischaracterization and public ostracization, these parent advocates never abandoned their mission to change public policy to better serve their children.
“I had hoped that this policy change would be accompanied by a metric-driven road map for our town and school officials to follow. While not ideal, this is at least an improvement. This welcomed change is a credit to grassroot advocacy and demand for representative government. Nothing is more powerful than the parents and caregivers fighting for their children.
“It is my hope that today’s announcement is a turning point for the Governor and the administration toward empowering individual choice and a consistency in public policy. I want to note that I am still concerned that today’s announcement will cause the public, or my fellow legislators, to overlook the fact that the Governor is still asking to maintain Executive branch authority to reinstate the statewide mandate at his discretion. Without a defined, science-based criteria for the decision making from Hartford, I will not support an order which allows for a statewide imposed school mask mandate without legislative input and respecting the will and wishes of our constituencies.”
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