2 Pennsylvania school districts make masks optional after court overturns mandate
BENSALEM, Pa. - Two southeastern Pennsylvania school districts made masks optional on Sunday after the state's highest court overturned the school mask mandate.
Bensalem Township School District in Bucks County and Oxford School District in Chester County said masks for students and faculty will be optional starting Monday.
The decision comes days after Pennsylvania's Supreme Court threw out the Wolf administration's statewide mandate that required face coverings inside K-12 school buildings.
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They ruled that the masking mandate, which also applies to child care facilities, is not valid because it was imposed by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf's acting health secretary without legal authorization. The practical impact of the decision will depend on which schools and school districts impose their own masking requirements.
The justices upheld a lower-court ruling that Alison Beam, the acting state health secretary, lacked authority to require masks, did not follow state laws about enacting regulations and acted without a required existing disaster emergency declared by the governor in place.
Federal directives remain in place, including mask-wearing for passengers and drivers on school busses. The elimination of the state's mask mandate also does not change how grade schools report COVID-19 cases and address outbreaks.
In a letter to families, Bensalem Township School District Superintendent Dr. Samuel Lee said unmasked and unvaccinated students who come into contact with a COVID-19 infection could still face a 10-day exclusion from school.
Staff and students that visit Oxford School District properties are required to follow their district's masking rules, according to Superintendent David A. Woods.
Federal regulators in November gave the green light on a smaller dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as 5.
In a study, Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine proved nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infection. Vaccinated youngsters developed levels of virus-fighting antibodies as strong as teens and young adults who’d received the full-strength dose.
Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday gave emergency authorization for 16- and 17-year-olds to get a third dose of the vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech -- if it’s been six months since their last shot.
(Jessica Christian/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Even though the virus tends to be more severe in adults than children, COVID-19 is causing plenty of preventable suffering among youngsters. About 1.9 million kids ages 5 to 11 have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Some 8,300 have been hospitalized, about a third needed intensive care, and at least 94 deaths have been verified.
Federal regulators in November gave the green light on a smaller dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as 5.
In a study, Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine proved nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infection. Vaccinated youngsters developed levels of virus-fighting antibodies as strong as teens and young adults who’d received the full-strength dose.
Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday gave emergency authorization for 16- and 17-year-olds to get a third dose of the vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech -- if it’s been six months since their last shot.
Even though the virus tends to be more severe in adults than children, COVID-19 is causing plenty of preventable suffering among youngsters. About 1.9 million kids ages 5 to 11 have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Some 8,300 have been hospitalized, about a third needed intensive care, and at least 94 deaths have been verified.
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