According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, at least three lawsuits have been filed challenging the PDH order which took effect on September 7th and has generated protests in some school communities.

One of the cases alleges that two children “could not breathe while wearing a mask,” and that another family believes “wearing masks interferes with their religious duty to spread the word of God and forces them to participate in a satanic ritual.” One challenge was brought by the top Republican in the Pennsylvania Senate. Backed by a conservative group that has challenged the 2020 election results, Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman says he signed on as a Bellefonte Area School District parent, not a legislator. Other plaintiffs in the case include fellow Republican State Rep. Jesse Topper of Bedford County, other parents, and two Christian schools. Together they contend acting PA Health Secretary Alison Beam didn’t have the authority to issue the order because no state rule or regulation exists that provides for a mask mandate. A hearing on their claim scheduled for Thursday was continued without a new date.

In a second case filed against Beam in Commonwealth Court, parents in Bucks County and elsewhere also accuse her of overstepping her authority — in particular, in counties that have their own health departments.

A third case, filed in federal court by parents against the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District, argues that not only did Wolf’s administration not have the right to order masking, but neither did the Chester County district, which had announced its own mask requirement prior to the state mandate.

For more form the Philadelphia Inquirer, click here or go to: https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania-school-mask-mandate-lawsuits-corman-20210916.html.