Please only sign if you are a Diocese of Rockville Centre school parent, student, parishioner or employwe of DRVC.*

We, the parents of DRVC schools, are advocating for parent choice when it comes to mask-wearing during the 2021-2022 school year.

This petition is in favor of mask choice for school-aged children in grades K-12 in schools within the Diocese of Rockville Centre. We are calling on our Superintendent, School Board, principals and building administrators not to mandate masks for 2021-2022 and let parents choose whether or not to have their children masked in school and without testing as an alternative. We ask that you revise the guidance sent out on August 17, 2021 giving the choice to mask to the parents.

Masking has been proven to be ineffective as summer school and camps have been mask-free. Cdc data has shown children to be the least susceptible to COVID-19 and the new Delta variant.

With teachers, staff, and other adults all having the opportunity to be fully vaccinated, the perceived risk of children spreading the virus to adults has been removed. There is no public health justification for forcing children to wear masks in school. There is no more state of emergency in New York and the govenor has no powers to issue any further mandates on this matter. It is clear that masks do more harm than good including physical, mental, and emotional harm.

We the parents have our constitutional right to decide what we feel is best for our children. We as tuition paying parents and donating parishioners have the right to make this educated choice for our children. We choose catholic school and catholic faith for our children so it's clear we know how to make good decisions for our children.

It is time we give our children back their childhood and allow them the chance to be kids!