Pa. school mask mandate will expire Dec. 4 if state Supreme Court doesn't issue new stay

The school mask mandate in Pennsylvania will end on Dec. 4 unless the state Supreme Court grants a stay to Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration.

On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court granted a motion to lift a stay of its order from last week that found the acting secretary of health had no authority to issue the state school mask mandate.

The court ruled on Nov. 10 that Acting Secretary Alison Beam failed to follow the proper rule-making authority when she issued her August order mandating masks for everyone inside K-12 schools in Pennsylvania.

The Wolf administration immediately filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court, resulting in an automatic stay of the lower court’s ruling.

Late Thursday, attorneys for the plaintiffs asked the Commonwealth Court to lift the stay, arguing that it was likely they would prevail on the appeal and that if the stay was not lifted, they would suffer irreparable harm.

In an opinion filed Tuesday, the court agreed on both counts, saying that allowing a violation of statutory authority constitutes “per se” irreparable harm.

Further, because the mask mandate affects the lives and behaviors of anyone who enters a school, they said in their earlier opinion, leaving the stay in place would constitute harm.

Elizabeth Rementer, a spokesperson for the governor, said the administration plans to challenge the order lifting the stay.

“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,” she said.

Duquesne University law professor Bruce Ledewitz said it is likely such a stay request will be granted.

“You can’t assume they’ll grant a stay,” he said. “They probably will, but they don’t have to. This is a normal process.”