Pennsylvania mandates masks for students in K-12
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Kaicelynn Steadman, 7, Ryker Steadman, 4, and Malachi, 2, are required to wear masks all day at kidbiz in Washington. Their mother, Bristille, picked them up after school Tuesday.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Kaicelynn Steadman, 7, wears a mask Tuesday at school at kidbiz in Washington.
Gov. Tom Wolf announced on Tuesday that masks will be required in all K-12 schools, starting Tuesday, Sept. 7.
The order requires students, teachers, staff and visitors at public and private schools, early learning programs, and child care centers to wear masks when indoors.
The order does not apply to school sports or outdoor activities.
The action is being taken as Pennsylvania, like other states across the country, experiences a resurgence of COVID-19 as students return to the classroom.
“The delta variant has changed everything for us,” said Wolf. “Wearing masks indoors is necessary to keep our students in the classroom and COVID-19 out of the classroom. We need our children to be in the classroom.”
At the afternoon press conference, Wolf pointed out the American Academy of Pediatrics, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Pennsylvania State Education Association are among the organizations calling for universal masking in schools.
Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam joined Wolf at the press conference, along with Education Secretary Noe Ortega and Dr. Trude Haecker, president of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“The reality is we are living in now is much different than it was just a month ago,” said Beam. “With case counts increasing, the situation has reached the point that we need to take this action to protect our children, teachers and staff. The science is clear. If we want to keep our schools open, maintain classroom learning and allow sports and other activities to continue, masking significantly increases our chances of doing so.”
The delta variant is more contagious than the original strain of the virus, accounting for more than 92% of current COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania.
Since July, COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania have increased from less than 300 a day to more than 3,000 a day – with cases among school-age children increasing by more than 11,000 in the last month, and by more than 79,000 from January 2021 to August 2021.
Additionally, new cases of COVID-19 among children enrolled in licensed child care facilities have increased significantly in recent months, according to data reported to DHS by child care providers, Beam said.
For example, on June 4, child care providers reported eight cases of COVID-19 among children in the previous week. On Aug. 27, the number of new COVID-19 cases among children in child care the previous week was 162.
Currently, 66 out of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties are experiencing high transmission levels of COVID-19.
Ortega noted that schools across the nation have already been forced to close, and students and teachers have had to quarantine – in Canon-McMillan, 50 high school students are quarantining, just four days after school started – because of COVID-19.
“Wearing masks is a proven strategy that will help Pennsylvania’s schools reduce the spread of COVID-19, protect their communities, and keep our students and educators where we know it’s vital for them to be – teaching, learning and growing together safely in their classrooms,” said Ortega.
Beam signed the order under her authority provided by the Disease Prevention and Control Law.
Beam noted that last school year, when COVID-19 transmission rates were as high as they are currently, students reverted to remote learning.
Haecker said that because children 12 and under are not yet eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine – which provides the best protection against the virus – masking is the next best defense and an important step for keeping students in the classroom.
She said many schools remained open last year at the height of the pandemic, with few COVID-19 cases, “mostly due to mask mandates,” she said.
“Over the past 18 months of the pandemic, so many children have fallen woefully behind in all aspects of their lives,” Haecker said. “The return to in-person school this fall is crucial to our children’s educational success and to their mental health. Unfortunately, due to the increase in the Delta variant as the governor has mentioned, we are already beginning to see that in-person school can lead to high volumes of exposure with rapid spread of infection. The result will be more quarantining, an increase in academic loss and further exacerbation of stress, anxiety and depression in the young people we serve.”
But masks have become a point of contention, as schools reopen amid rising numbers of coronavirus cases. Polls – including an Aug. 23 poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research – show a majority of Americans support mask-wearing in schools.
Others argue that masks should be optional.
“I’m not sure why there’s push back. If we don’t do this, where does that leave us?” asked Wolf. “School events are canceled, school is canceled, students are sent home to quarantine … To say (COVID-19) is nothing, it’s closing your eyes to reality.”
Wolf’s decision was met with disapproval from GOP lawmakers.
State Rep. Tim O’Neal, R-Washington, said today in a statement, “As a father of two school-aged children, I strongly disagree with the governor’s decision to mandate masks in all school buildings in the Commonwealth. This is a decision that is best left up to each school board. The incidents of COVID-19 transmission vary greatly across the Commonwealth and if anything has been shown over the past 18 months it is a one-size-fits-all approach does not work and is not applicable.”
O’Neal questioned whether Beam has the authority to implement masking policies in Commonwealth schools.
“Earlier this month, the governor asked the Legislature to come back into session to pass a mask mandate. If he thought he had the authority without us, why did he call for legislation to be passed,” O’Neal said.
Said Rep. Joshua D. Kail (R-Beaver/Washington), “It’s quite simple: these types of decisions should be made at the local level. Local leaders know the local conditions better than the Wolf administration.”
Wolf called on state lawmakers in recent weeks to pass a school mask mandate, but the request was rejected.
The mask requirement also comes about a month after Wolf ruled out a statewide mask mandate for schools.
But, said Wolf, an aggressive campaign spreading misinformation about mask-wearing has fueled the controversy.
“Doing nothing right now to stop COVID-19, that’s just not an option,” said Wolf. “This is where we are right now. I’m the one left holding the bag. I’m the one who has to make the decision.”
Wolf said he will revisit the decision in October.