New York school refuses to let maskless students into classes despite judge's ruling

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New York school refuses to let maskless students indoors

Tina and Isabella Bonati on Manhasset Secondary School District refusing to let maskless students in school.

A Long, Island New York high school student said Wednesday she was denied entry to her classes despite a New York Supreme Court judge ruling the governor's mask mandate unconstitutional.

Manhasset Secondary School student Isabella Bonati told "Fox & Friends" she presented a note from her mother Tuesday morning that explained the court's Monday ruling, but was told to work from the library or go home 

"She just looked at it, and she didn’t even open it. She saw it in my hand and was, like, 'I’m not going to look at that. That’s not my business. You either grab a mask or you get out of the building.' I told her thank you, have a nice day," she explained. 

NEW YORK JUDGE STRIKES DOWN HOCHUL’S MASK MANDATE, GOVERNOR VOWS FIGHT

A stay on the mask ruling was issued later Tuesday by a state appeals court, which will next hear the case.

Bonati said she met up with other parents and students who had believed the court ruling would mean masks would not be required in the school.  

"I called my mom. One by one, more parents and students showed up and we had a little protest outside."

Kathy Hochul, governor of New York, speaks during a new conference at the Albany NanoTech Complex in Albany, New York, U.S., on Monday, Jan. 24, 2022. Hochul said the push for Albany to become the epicenter of semiconductor research and production falls in line with her plan to make the state the most business and worker-friendly state nationwide. Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A New York judge on Monday ruled that Gov. Kathy Hochul’s effort to reinstate the state’s mask mandate is unlawful and "therefore void and unenforceable."

Hochul announced in December that masks will be required in all indoor public places in the state unless the businesses implement a vaccine requirement. The move came shortly after the emergence of the omicron variant. 

State Supreme Court Judge Thomas Rademaker said the state Department of Health did not have the legal authority to implement the mandate — and should have been approved by the state Legislature.

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo instituted the mask mandate in the early stages of the outbreak, citing emergency powers. The mandate was dropped for those who were vaccinated in June 2021. Fox 5 NY reported that Hochul said her mandate would be in effect for at least a month. Then earlier this month, the Health Department said the mandate would be in place until Feb 1.

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Isabella’s mom Tina said she was surprised that they did not allow her into school and did not bother to read the note.

She said the school faculty took several hours to address the protesters as they pushed back against the school’s mask mandate.

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"Their compromise was that they would allow the students who did not want to wear the masks, which was their constitutional right at that moment in time, that would allow them to enter the building, but they had to stay segregated in the library. They would have Zoom access to their classes. They would not be able to leave unless they had an escort to go to the bathroom or the cafeteria," she said.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 04: A woman gets tested at a mobile COVID-19 testing van on 14th street in Manhattan on January 4, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Liao Pan/China News Service via Getty Images) (Liao Pan/China News Service via Getty Images)

Isabella said the reason she did not wear a mask was that the law was unconstitutional. 

"All that I’m trying to do is abide by the law. I don’t want to follow something that is unconstitutional. If it is constitutional now, I will listen to it."

Fox News' Edmund DeMarche contributed to this report.