JEFFERSON CO., Pa. (EYT) – Masks are now required in all Pennsylvania schools, as well as child care facilities, as the Wolf administration’s new mask mandate takes effect today.
Gov. Tom Wolf made the announcement last week in a reversal on previous statements about allowing school districts to make their own decisions.
Both Wolf and Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam stated the change came about due to the surging COVID-19 numbers in the state with the advent of the Delta variant.
“The reality we are living in now is much different than it was just a month ago,” Beam noted.
“PA, like the rest of the nation, is seeing a steep increase in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths due to COVID-19.”
Beam cited statistics from the Pennsylvania Department of Health showing that since schools had started, over 5,000 students had tested positive for COVID-19.
The mandate, which officials say they hope curbs the growing COVID-19 numbers, requires students, teachers, and staff to wear masks when inside school buildings, regardless of their vaccination status.
The order does not apply to student-athletes while they’re playing, and it also does not apply to outdoor activities. Some students will also be exempt under Section 3 of the Wolf administration’s order if waiver is signed.
“We have to act now to protect our students and our teachers. We need to put politics aside and go back to what matters: keeping students safe and keeping them in the classroom,” Wolf said during the news conference announcing the mandate.
“This is necessary to our future as a commonwealth.”
In a release in response to the mandate, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) said that the decision on masking should have been left to local school officials, but that it would nevertheless remind school districts “of their legal obligation related to the directive.”
Like the PSBA, many parents in Pennsylvania believe the decision on masking should have been left to local school officials and parents, and several social media groups have been formed in our local area to discuss and take action on the issue.
According to KDKA News, a new lawsuit has been filed in the Commonwealth Court to stop the mandate.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman is involved in the case, along with parents from the Butler Area School District and Slippery Rock Area School District.
The lawsuit alleges that the Secretary of Health is overreaching, using power that belongs at the district level, and the mandate could lead to the plaintiff’s children being denied education or having it disrupted.
The case is scheduled to go in front of the Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg on September 16 and could end up going on to the state Supreme Court.
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