Leading Republican state lawmakers have turned down a call from Governor Tom Wolf for masks to be mandatory inside schools.
The governor can’t force districts to do so because the public health emergency order has expired. Instead, he requested that the House to return to session and pass an order making masks a requirement.
Wolf and his Secretary of Education Noe Ortega say masks and other COVID safety protocols are important to help keep kids in class five-days-a-week.
“We know how important it is for students to be here in classrooms and I appreciate the steps you continue to take to ensure that teaching and learning can continue throughout the year,” Ortega said yesterday at Mt. Lebanon High School. “This includes your coordination of an incredibly successful vaccination clinic earlier this year.”
Right now only 59 of 174 Pennsylvania school districts are mandating masks.
Republican leaders of the House and Senate wrote a letter to Wolf explaining why they believe mask mandates for schools are an issue best left to local determination.
