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Commonwealth Court Of Pennsylvania Hears Arguments Over School Mask Mandate

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The fight over masking students went before the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

One of the state's highest leaders, State Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, is one of the parents fighting the mandate.

The cases lasted about an hour and a half. Two attorneys argued why the mask mandate is not legal, while the Pennsylvania Department of Health argued it is well within its rights.

The first 45 minutes featured the two attorneys with a lawsuit against Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam. They said the Department of Health has no authority to create this mandate.

One of their biggest talking points was the mandate should be a local decision. They argued a school board or local health department should mandate the masking.

They went on to say many schools created their own health and safety plans in the summer before this mandate came down. In some cases, some schools already started and had no warning the mandate was coming.

The plaintiffs argued over the last 20 months, efforts should have been taken to make this into a regulation through proper legislative action.

The state Department of Health argued what it has been saying since the beginning: the state's Disease Prevention and Control Law gives the department this power.

The state Department of Health went on to argue it's not always known who is testing positive and it wants to prevent the spread of the virus.

In regards to this being a local issue, the attorney said COVID-19 has hit all 67 counties in Pennsylvania. With many school-aged children unable to get the vaccine, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said this is the least intrusive way to have protection.

The panel of judges asked questions to both sides about the legality of their claims. The judges are now working on issuing an opinion. The court didn't have a timeline on when that will happen.

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