Writing that “courts retain a restricted role in reviewing the determinations of private universities,” an appeals court has ruled that New York University’s suspension of several student-athletes for not wearing masks or distancing from others at August 2020 off-campus parties, despite the school’s safety policies and its COVID-19 notices, should stand.

The decision from the state Appellate Division, First Department court reverses an October 2020 ruling from Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead, who had annulled the students’ Fall 2020 semester-long suspensions, ordered the suspensions removed from their school records, and directed NYU to allow the three students to complete their fall coursework.