NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s state Education Department has suggested the sexual harassment allegations against the governor are distracting his health officials from the next school year.
In a rare public display of infighting within Cuomo’s cabinet, the state DOE slammed a last-minute decision from Health Commissioner Howard Zucker to delegate coronavirus safety guidelines to local school districts.
Zucker on Thursday announced that the state would not issue broad safety rules for the next school year, recommending local districts consult guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health agencies.
"With the end of the state disaster emergency on June 25, 2021, school districts are reestablished as the controlling entity for schools,” Zucker said.
The DOE tore into Zucker over the decision, coming just a month before the start of the school year.
“There is an urgent need for timely advice and supervision flowing from the State Department of Health to local and school officials as they navigate these uncertain times,” the DOE said in a statement, shared in all-caps on Twitter.
Education Commissioner Betty Rosa sent a letter to Zucker asking him to “consider DOH’s statutory responsibilities as the state agency devoted to public health,” the statement continued.
The DOE then referenced the sexual harassment allegations that have brought intense pressure onto Gov. Cuomo to resign, suggesting that the scandal has impaired Health Department operations.
“The circumstances enveloping the Executive Chamber this week should not prevent the Department of Health from the execution of its responsibilities to the public,” the DOE continued, “as has been promised by the governor’s office for months.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio is gearing up for a return to classrooms this fall with no options for remote learning. As the delta variant begins to spread, the mayor has announced a slew of new vaccine-or-test mandates -- including an order for all school staff to be vaccinated by the first day of school on Sept. 13, or be subject to weekly coronavirus testing.
The city Department of Education is also requiring all students and staff to wear masks inside, regardless of vaccination status.