PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld a Commonwealth Court decision ending the Department of Health's statewide mandate that requires wearing masks and face covering in schools and child care centers.
Last month, Commonwealth Court ruled 4-1 that the state health department overstepped its bounds when it issued the order requiring everyone in Pennsylvania K-12 schools must wear a mask regardless of vaccination status. It said the Department of Health did not have the authority to issue the school masking order without an emergency declaration by the governor.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard argument earlier this week, and in a unanimous decision is upholding the Commonwealth Court ruling.
That means school boards will decide mask policy.
Commonwealth Court’s majority opinion said the health department doesn’t have “carte blanche” to impose measures without regard for procedures, rules, and regulations.”
But a lawyer representing the health department tried to argue before the state supreme court that the mask mandate was a “modified disease control mechanism" tailored to address the pandemic which, he argued, is the point of the health department.
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The decision means districts will decide what mask policy will be in their schools.
“Today’s ruling is a victory for parents and communities whose opinions have been ignored by the Wolf Administration for far too long," said State Senate President Pro Tempore and now gubernatorial candidate Jake Corman (R-Centre), one of the parents who filed the lawsuit.
“As we have strongly advocated for months, mitigations, strategies and decisions are best made at the local level," Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) and House Majority Leader Rep. Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin) said in a joint statement.
"Today, local leaders are empowered to once again make the decisions that best fit the needs of their own communities as the challenges we face with regards to COVID-19 continue to evolve.”
The Wolf Administration issued the mask mandate in August. He had set January 17 as the date the mandate would end, but it now stops a month and seven days beforehand.
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In Philadelphia, Schools Superintendent William Hite has said the district would not be lifting its mask mandate unless federal and city officials say it’s safe.
Hite last month said masks would remain mandatory in Philadelphia schools for students and staff until guidance from health experts suggests otherwise.
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The decision comes just two days after the high court heard oral arguments in the challenge filed by the Senate's highest-ranking Republican leader and others.
The lower-court found Pennsylvania's disease control law does not give health secretaries "the blanket authority to create new rules and regulations out of whole cloth, provided they are related in some way to the control of disease or can otherwise be characterized as disease control measures."
The lawsuit was filed by Corman, state Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford; two religious schools; three public school districts; and several parents of schoolchildren.
Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam's actions, the litigants argued, left the public unable to voice their opinions and the General Assembly unable to review the policy's legality or necessity, and violated state law.
The following is a full statement from Wolf administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Rementer:
The administration's top priority from the beginning of this pandemic has been and remains protecting public health and safety, including students and staff, to ensure in-person learning continues.
We are awaiting an opinion on the decision, but the outcome is extremely disappointing. That said, the administration recognizes that many school districts want to ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for students and staff, and we are hopeful they will make appropriate mitigation decisions moving forward.
The administration urges school districts to prioritize the health and safety of their students and staff when making mitigation decisions. Masking is a proven and simple way to keep kids in school without interruption and participate in sports and other extra-curricular activities.
Universal masking in schools, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend, reduces the risk that entire classrooms will need to quarantine due to a positive COVID-19 case.
The administration also continues to urge all eligible Pennsylvanians to get vaccinated, get boosted, and take your children ages 5 and older to get vaccinated.
Appointments are available statewide for Pennsylvanians ages 5 and older for their primary series and 16+ for their booster shot. Vaccines are safe, effective, and readily available across Pennsylvania. Visit vaccines.gov to find an appointment.
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