On Sunday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the statewide mask mandate for schools will be lifted as of Wednesday.

It's a relief for some parents and educators.

"I think it was good, but it was overdue," said Kim Perini, a mother of three school-aged children in the Sweet Home Central School District.

Many parents had been calling on New York state to end the mandate requiring kids and adults to wear masks in schools. 

While individual counties or districts can still require masks, for many people, the choice will now fall to families, like Perini’s. Kim says she is glad her kids will be able to go to school without masks on. 

"[It] should've been a personal choice,” Perini said. “At least starting from this year, maybe not last year. But even last year, it should've been a personal choice.”

Wendy Mistretta has a daughter who is a senior in high school. Mistretta is also the president of the District Parent Coordinating Council in Buffalo. She's heard from parents with many perspectives on masks in schools.

"The overwhelming majority of families are really ready,” Mistretta said. “They're ready to have the kids to have the masks off. They're ready to be able to decide for themselves whether a child can wear a mask.”

While she's seen students adjust to wearing masks all of the time and understands the need for health reasons, Mistretta has also noticed how they can affect children in multiple ways.

"It's a barrier,” Mistretta said. “It's a cloth barrier mentally, physically, whatever it might be for many of our kids, and socially.”

Michael Cornell is the superintendent for the Hamburg Central School District. He's also president of the Erie-Niagara Superintendents Association. He said universal masking is not necessary to stay safe in a school setting.

"I think it really represents an opportunity to seize what a sense of normalcy is in our schools after two years of anything but normalcy in our schools," he said.

Cornell added that whether someone chooses to wear a mask or not, their decision should be treated with respect.

"We preach a culture of kindness regarding people's differences and celebrating people's differences,” he said. “I think kids have grown accustomed to that over the years. I don't think we're going to have any problems incorporating that into the culture of our schools.”

Cornell admits that Wednesday could bring anxiety for some families, but the school is there to support them. They'll have N95 masks available to anyone who wants to wear one.

And for parents like Mistretta, it's a sign the pandemic might be turning a corner.

"I'm relieved because we're at a stage where we can do this,” she said. “So that to me is a huge relief, because our kids have gone through so much in the last two years.”