New York's indoor mask mandate for businesses expired this week, but face coverings are still required in schools and other settings, which has stirred activists across New York who are calling for change.

The #MandateFreedom rally held across New York on Friday was organized ahead of Gov. Kathy Hochul's announcement earlier in the week that masks were no longer required inside of businesses, but protesters in White Plains demanded their children be allowed to go unmasked in schools.

"Unmask our kids" and "Unmask NY forever" were among the messages on signs carried by protesters in front of Westchester courts in White Plains.

What You Need To Know

  • Gov. Hochul announced Wednesday she was lifting the statewide mask mandate for businesses, but not dropping the mandate for schools

  • The #MandateFreedom rally was held in cities and towns across the state on Friday

  • Protesters in White Plains said it should be up to parents to decide whether or not their children wear masks in school

Two high school seniors who asked to remain anonymous energized the crowd Friday with speeches about how fed up they were with the mask requirement at their high school in Mount Kisco. One teen said they were suspended from school because they decided to stop wearing masks.

Protesters also question why the mandate was removed for businesses but not schools.

The CDC recommends masks be worn inside schools, regardless of vaccination status.

But Rani Siegel, of Marlboro, said she wants her daughter to go to school without one.

"We’re tired of the mask mandates. We believe it’s time to end them," Siegel said.

She said she’s glad to see the mandate dropped for businesses, but said the state needs to take it further.

"For me, it’s more important about the children, but businesses can ask you to wear masks. If you don't like it, you don’t have to go there, but the children don’t need to be masked in schools," said Seigel.

Gov. Hochul said Wednesday that she would reconsider the school mask mandate in March, when children return from winter break. She indicated multiple measurements will be used to determine the next steps for the mask mandate in schools, including whether cases have significantly increased after the week off, along with the trend of vaccinations among eligible children as well as hospitalizations and global trends.

Protesters in White Plains said that can’t wait. They want the mandate lifted immediately.