Many support masks on school kids into March, many still want indoor mandate

Albany, New York — According to a recent Siena Poll, while many parents and students have been protesting mask mandates over the past couple of weeks, many still support the idea of mandating mask-wearing in schools until early March data can be collected.

We should wait for early March data before deciding whether to lift the school mask mandate, 58% of those polled said.

While vocal, with protests and students being sent home or isolated in lunchrooms or libraries, 30% of those polled say the mandate should have ended already with 10% of those polled willing to see it through the school winter break.

According to the poll, while Gov. Hochul lifted the mandate statewide on indoor businesses, 45% still support masks. While 30% say it should have ended sooner, 20% say the governor made the right call to end.

“While nearly two-thirds of voters without children at home support waiting for March data to decide on the school mask mandate, state and school officials face a ‘lose/lose’ proposition with their constituents most closely affected by this decision – regardless of the decision – since voters with children under 18 in their household are closely divided between waiting for data to decide and masks should have been off already,” Greenberg said.