Parent asks board to allow medically exempt child back to class while appeal proceeds

At the March 10 board meeting, a parent identified as Paul (speaker 16) told the board his medically fragile child has been excluded from in‑person school since November despite a New York State Supreme Court judge’s January ruling that the medical exemption is valid. Paul said the judge found the child “is not a public‑health risk” and called the district’s continued exclusion ‘‘a choice you are making’’ because the district is relying on an automatic stay under CPLR procedures while an appeal is pending.

Paul urged the board to allow the child to return immediately, saying the automatic stay is not a judicial order and ‘‘you have the authority to permit him to attend while the appeal is underway.’’ He added that if the child were in private school he would already be back in class and described the exclusion as a ‘‘profound disruption’’ to the student’s education, mental health and social connection.

A separate parent (addressed as Crystal during the meeting) described the educational consequences of the exclusion: she said her child, covered by a 504 plan, has received no direct instruction since October, has not completed tests or assignments and ‘‘would fail’’ a test today because the child has not been provided meaningful instruction.

Board members did not take immediate formal action during the meeting. The public comment prompted the board to note the legal and operational issues raised; the meeting record shows the board planned further review of related policies and consultation with attorneys in the context of scheduled policy committee work.

Next steps: The speakers asked the board to reconsider the use of an automatic stay in individual cases and to ensure excluded students receive meaningful instruction; the board indicated it will confer with counsel and review relevant policies as part of its upcoming committee work.