PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Republicans in the Pennsylvania legislature are criticizing the Wolf administration for its response to a court ruling that threw out the state's COVID-19 masking-in-schools requirement.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R-Centre, Huntingdon, Juniata and Mifflin counties) and State Representative Jesse Topper (R-Bedford, Franklin and Fulton counties) are among the group of parents who filed the lawsuit, claiming the Pennsylvania Department of Health was overstepping its bounds issuing the mandatory masking-in-schools order.
Commonwealth Court judges agreed in a 4-1 decision, voiding the masking order.
Related
But the Department of Health filed an appeal which puts a hold on the Commonwealth Court decision taking effect.
Corman and Topper are asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to resolve the case as quickly as possible.
They’ve argued decisions are best made at the local level.
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 dissenting opinion from one of two Democratic judges involved in the decision said the move 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.
Governor Wolf said earlier this week that he expects schools can make their own decisions on masks on January 17.
Corman and Topper argued he is ignoring the will of voters who passed a Constitutional amendment that ended the governor’s ability to unilaterally extend emergency declarations.
