PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has ruled to end the stay on the removal of the state's school mask mandate, effective December 4.
The decision, filed by Commonwealth Court Judge Christine Fizzano Cannon, allows for school districts to decide whether their students and staff must wear masks to protect against COVID-19, starting the first full week of December.
A previous ruling last week by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court voided the Wolf administration's statewide school mask mandate, in favor of a lawsuit by parents including Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R-Centre, Huntingdon, Juniata and Mifflin counties) and State Representative Jesse Topper (R-Bedford, Franklin and Fulton counties) to end the mandatory order.
The majority opinion from Commonwealth Court pointed out several reasons why the Department of Health doesn’t have the authority to issue the orders.
Related
The Department of Health filed an appeal which automatically put a hold on last week's Commonwealth Court decision, but the court lifted the hold Tuesday.
Commonwealth Court pointed to the likelihood of the parents winning on appeal, what the court called the harm inherent in allowing an order issued in violation of statutory authority to remain in force, and what it says said a lack of harm to other interested parties or the public, as it said that stay should be lifted.
Related
A dissenting opinion from one of two Democratic judges involved in the decision last week said the mask mandate was appropriate, especially with the rise in the numbers of cases, the increased spread among unvaccinated children, and recommendations from the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics.
"Given the Commonwealth Court ruling today, we will seek to ensure that the masking mandate remains in place through the duration of the appeal process in our ongoing effort to protect the health and safety of students, teachers and staff," said Wolf Administration Press Secretary Elizabeth Rementer.
