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Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court struck down a statewide school mask mandate supported by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Acting State Health Secretary Alison Beam Friday.
The court declared that Beam, who stepped into the role after former Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine moved on to the Biden administration, did not have the power to mandate that students mask up in school, according to Harrisburg’s PennLIVE.
The ruling affirmed a decision by the lower Commonwealth Court, which said earlier this year that the state’s Disease Control and Prevention Act of 1955 did not provide Beam “the blanket authority to create new rules and regulations out of whole cloth.”
A written court opinion summarizing the ruling has not yet been issued but is forthcoming, according to FOX-43.
The initial lawsuit was filed by a consortium of parents, school districts and Republican politicians, including state Senate Leader Jake Corman III, R-State College, and state Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford.
In a Philadelphia courtroom on Wednesday, Senior Deputy State Attorney General Sean Kirkpatrick argued that the Wolf administration had the authority to impose the school mask mandate and said the delta variant of coronavirus was “causing a lot more harm to children.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf addresses supporters before former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for statewide Democratic candidates Sept. 21, 2018 in Philadelphia. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)
Wolf spokeswoman Beth Rementer described the court’s decision as “extremely disappointing.”
“The administration recognizes that many school districts want to ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for students and staff, and we are hopeful they will make appropriate mitigation decisions moving forward,” Rementer said.
In August, the state’s Republican legislative majority drafted a bill currently awaiting a floor vote that would provide Pennsylvanians…
Source : foxnews
