HAMBURG, N.Y. — With just weeks left in the school year, the debate over children wearing masks in school isn't letting up. 

What You Need To Know

  • The state released new guidance this week surrounding masks in schools

  • Hamburg parents and students protested Tuesday calling for the school district to drop mask mandates

  • The district superintendent says they have to follow the state's lead 

Dozens of parents and students protested outside Union Pleasant Elementary School in Hamburg Tuesday evening demanding the Hamburg Central School District unmask children. 

"You just sweat, you get overheated, you get headaches," said Samantha Sywak, a fourth-grader at Armor Elementary School. "Some people go to the nurse's office just because of the mask."

This week the state released new guidance giving schools the option to allow kids to take off their masks outdoors while masking indoors is still required. Some families simply want to have a choice when it comes to their children.

"I want medical freedom; I want freedom of choice," said Jennifer Izzo, a parent to a Pre-K student in Hamburg. "I believe that parents should be able to choose what is best for their family and their child and their situation and I know that's different from family to family, person to person." 

The group took their concerns inside Tuesday night's board of education meeting and let the board know exactly how they feel. 

"You have to have a backbone and you have to stand up and you are in charge of all the superintendents, and if you linked arms, what is the governor going to do?" a parent asked the board superintendent.

Michael Cornell, the superintendent, defended the district's actions saying it's the law to follow the mandates. He even outlined potential consequences if they don't. 

"What the governor's office is doing as we speak is they're telling us they're going to take away our state aid if we don't comply, which is $16 million," said Cornell. "They're saying that they would also close the school and say you can't operate in person and you would have to go fully remote and threatening to file charges against the superintendent."

Dr. Joseph Chow, the president of Western New York Immediate Care, agrees with the latest guidelines given the current COVID-19 vaccine eligibility. 

"The virus needs humans to transmit, and so the people who are vaccinated are protected," said Dr. Chow. "So the virus has to go elsewhere, and the elsewhere is essentially people who are not vaccinated, and because the kids are not vaccinated, they're the next where it would flow next."

A state spokesperson sent the following statement to Spectrum News 1:

“Pre-K to Grade 12 schools must comply with DOH guidance in order to be authorized to remain open for in-person instruction. If a district is not following the masking requirements of the Department’s guidance, local health departments are the entities charged with enforcing these requirements.”