​BUFFALO, N.Y. — ​An agreement has been reached between the parents of a Buffalo Public School student and district over a lawsuit that claimed that their 10-year-old son has been denied access to his school because he cannot wear a face mask.

The filing says the boy suffers from a range of disorders, including autism, ADHD and PICA, which is an eating disorder in which a person eats things that are not considered food.

Attorneys for the parents say the District agreed to allow the student back into school for in-person learning with a face shield and also agreed to change its policy so that it will now consider mask exemptions on a case-by-case basis.

"We are pleased that the District agreed to let J.S. and other disabled students return to their classrooms for in-person learning, so that they will not be denied the same access that non-disabled students enjoy," a statement from Rebecca F. Izzo, Esq., Connors LLP read. "It is regrettable that it took many months and a federal lawsuit to obtain fair access for these disabled students, but we are grateful that the District has finally agreed to do the right thing.  This case does not just affect my clients’ son.  The District’s agreement to change its policy and consider mask exemptions for students who cannot wear a mask due to a disability or medical condition should allow other students who have been wrongly excluded from school to return with reasonable accommodations."

The agreement, which was read into the Record in Federal Court on Wednesday, states:

  • The student will return to school in-person on February 7, 2022
  • The student will not be required to wear a face mask, but will wear a face shield
  • The student will be provided with bus transportation, as set forth in his I.E.P.
  • The student will attend all specials with the various safety protocols in place (social distancing, face shield use, etc.)
  • The student will undergo COVID-19 testing once a week, which will be conducted through the use of rapid antigen tests that will be administered by the school nurse on Monday mornings (or the first day of the week that J.S. is in attendance)
  • The District has already begun crafting and implementing new protocols regarding requests for exemptions to the District’s mask mandate. As such, the language regarding masks that was contained in the 2021-2022 Addendum issued on August 9, 2021 is obsolete. The District intends to reach out to the parents of the students who previously requested a mask exemption, and the District will analyze all requests for exemptions on a case-by-case basis, consistent with the “Mask and/or Face Shield Exemption During In-Person Instruction” guidance document issued in July 2021.

A spokesperson for the district tells Spectrum News 1 they have no comment on the lawsuit since litigation is ongoing.