According to the Associated Press, Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre; Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford; two private Christian schools; and parents from the Wyomissing Area, Butler Area, and Slippery Rock Area school districts have filed suit claiming that PA Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam’s K-12 mask order is illegal and seeks an injunction against the order. 

The health secretary’s order took effect on September 7th and requires student and staff to wear face coverings when inside, regardless of vaccination status.

Governor Wolf has stated that a universal, statewide order was necessary and PDH officials have reported that thousands of students have tested positive for COVID-19 since schools re-opened.

In response, the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, representing Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam, said the plaintiffs seeking to overturn the mask mandate have presented nothing more than a policy dispute in court and are asking that it “ignore a real and substantial public health risk so they can continue with instruction in whatever manner they see fit.”

“There can be no more fundamental interest to the public than protecting its children from an unnecessary disease or death,” Ms. Beam’s lawyers wrote in a brief.

The court will hold a hearing on the application for emergency relief on September 16th.

Please click here for the Ptiisburgh Post-Gazette article.

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