Wolf administration asks state Supreme Court to leave school mask mandate in place

The state attorney general’s office, in an expected move, has asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to keep intact the school mask mandate pending the outcome of litigation on the issue.

The mandate is set to expire on Dec. 4 following an order by the state Commonwealth Court last week.

“The Commonwealth Court’s order will upend the status quo, sowing confusion among school districts and parents, and will place the health of our most vulnerable at risk,” the state’s attorneys wrote.

The state Supreme Court is scheduled to hear argument on the issue on Dec. 8.

On Nov. 10, the appellate court ruled that Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam failed to follow the proper requirements in issuing the August order that mandated masks for everyone inside K-12 schools across Pennsylvania.

The court’s order was in response to two separate complaints filed against the Wolf administration, who had initially said it would leave decisions on masking up to individual districts. However, as the delta variant of covid-19 started to surge in late summer leading to outbreaks in schools, Beam issued the order, effective Sept. 7.

Parents of children impacted by the mandate challenged it, arguing that Beam did not have the authority to issue the order.

In their opinion, the Commonwealth Court agreed, writing that Beam was required to follow procedures for implementing rules and regulations as set forth by the Pennsylvania code.

The Wolf administration filed an appeal of the Commonwealth Court order within hours. That appeal automatically stayed the court’s decision.

However, the plaintiffs asked the Commonwealth Court to lift that stay, which it agreed to do, effective Dec. 4.

The state announced earlier this month that it would lift the mask mandate on Jan. 17.