Pennslvania Supreme Court rules against state's overall COVID-19 mask requirements for students/

Statewide COVID-19 school mask mandate tossed by Pennsylvania Supreme Court An intense battle over the legality of the requirement was decided Friday, but schools districts can still impose their own rules PhillyVoice

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Friday that the state's COVID-19 mask requirement for schools is not valid and was imposed without legal authorization. The order covered all students and teachers in K-12 schools and child care centers in the state.

The mask order took effect in early September, near the start of the academic year, in the midst of the delta variant surge, and became the subject of an intense legal battle led by Republican state lawmakers and a group of parents, schools and districts opposed to the rule. They had sued the state over the mask order, arguing that it bypassed public input in the legislature.

Individual school districts and schools still can decide to require masks on their own. The School District of Philadelphia had already said that its school mask mandate would remain in place for students and teachers despite the outcome of the case, which went through several appeals. ...