PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For at least a short time, all Pennsylvania students, faculty, and staff will be required to wear face masks in schools with some exceptions, after a state Supreme Court ruling that temporarily brings back the mask mandate until it hears the case involving a lawsuit against the state's Department of Health about the mandate.
The legal fight over the mask mandate, initially put in place by Gov. Tom Wolf's administration in August, led to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ending a stay on the removal of the mandate in November.
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That ruling would have meant the mask mandate ending on Saturday. School districts would have been given the right to decide on mandating the wearing of masks to protect against COVID-19.
However, the state Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday to reinstate the stay for now, leading to the mandate being put back in place at least until the court begins hearing the case next Wednesday, December 8.
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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) and numerous school districts initially filed the lawsuit to end the mandatory order.
