Pennsylvania Leaders Grapple Over Authority to Require Masks in Schools

Contact Your Elected Officials
The Epoch Times

With just weeks left before the start of the new school year, the rules surrounding masking Pennsylvaniaโ€™s K-12 students are still unclear.

Masking was the main topic Friday during a well-attended hearing about COVID-19 school policies held in Harrisburg by the Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee.

Committee members and most of the audienceโ€”members of the public mostly opposing masking childrenโ€”were without masks, but the panel of three state officials being questioned wore masks, even while speaking. They were: acting Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Alison Beam, Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Noe Ortega, and acting Education Deputy Secretary Sherri Smith.

The Department of Educationโ€™s recommendation to schools is for full, in-person instruction, Smith said. No school district has announced plans for remote learning, but some parents have requested remote learning as an option for their children, she said.

The in-person recommendation from the departments of health and education is coupled with another recommendation: for schools to follow guidance from the Center for Disease Control that includes social distancing, and for all students, vaccinated or not, to wear a mask in school.

State Senate Education Committee Chair Scott Martin, a Republican, questioned who can ultimately make the decision on masks.

โ€œUnder what constitutional or statutory authority does a school board or local government or even a state government have to impose various restrictions or orders if there is not a current emergency declaration and no order related to the secretary of health?โ€ Martin asked. โ€œWhere are those powers grounded, for a local school board to impose such restrictions?โ€

Beam said the Health Department is not considering a statewide masking mandate at this time so the department is pointing to the CDC guidance for universal masking for k-12.

โ€œEach of those school districts would then have the option of imposing a masking mandate under their authorities,โ€ Beam said.

Ortega added that they would have to check with the Department of Educationโ€™s legal team to see if the legal means exist at the school level to impose mask mandates.

Byย Beth Brelje

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Thinking Conservative
The Thinking Conservativehttps://www.thethinkingconservative.com/
The goal of THE THINKING CONSERVATIVE is to help us educate ourselves on conservative topics of importance to our freedom and our pursuit of happiness. We do this by sharing conservative opinions on all kinds of subjects, from all types of people, and all kinds of media, in a way that will challenge our perceptions and help us to make educated choices.

Was Texas Storm Manmade?

Another โ€œ1-in-100 yearsโ€ weather event in Kerr County happened next to a Texas designated โ€œWeather Modification Map of Rain-Enhancement Projects in Texasโ€.

The America Party Will Harm Democrats The Most

Elon Musk formed the America Party after an X poll asking his followers if they wanted โ€œindependence from the two-party system!

Democrats Exhibit the Dunning-Kruger Effect (DKE)

โ€œThe Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias where people with low ability at a task overestimate their competence, while those with high ability underestimate their competence.

250 Countdown

Those 56 intrepid men who signed put their very lives, honor and fortunes on the line. There was no auto-quill to accommodate their signatures.ย 

How the Senate Parliamentarian Changed the OBBB

An unelected bureaucrat does a important job in the U.S. Senate. Elizabeth MacDonough enforces senate rules on Trumpโ€™s โ€œOne Big Beautiful Billโ€.

Trump Administration Ends Deportation Protections for 76,000 From Honduras, Nicaragua

Mondayโ€™s decision is the latest in several temporary protected...

Death Toll From Texas Floods Rises to 82, Including 28 Children; Trump Plans Visit

Days after catastrophic flash floods in central Texas, rescuers are still searching for potential survivors, including 27 girls who went missing from camp.

Trump Signs Major Disaster Declaration Over Texas Flooding

President Trump signed major disaster declaration for Kerr County, TX, following floods leaving dozens dead and FEMA has been activated to respond.

Storm Chantal Makes Landfall in Carolinas, Weakens to Tropical Depression

Chantal weakened into a tropical depression, and tropical storm warnings previously issued for parts of North and South Carolina were discontinued.

National Weather Service Fully Staffed During Deadly Texas Flooding: White House

White House press sec. Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the National Weather Service had a full staff on hand to handle the Central Texas flooding.

US Removes Terrorist Designation for Al Qaeda Affiliate in Syria

The State Department has removed from its list of foreign terrorist organizations Al Qaedaโ€™s affiliate in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra.

Trump Announces 25 Percent Tariff on Japan, South Korea

President Donald Trump on July 7 issued letters announcing 25 percent tariffs on Japan and South Korea, set to take effect on Aug. 1, 2025.

White House Asks Americans to Pray After Deadly Texas Flooding

White Houseโ€™s Faith Office said in a statement that it is asking people โ€œto join us in prayer for the precious lives lost in the Texas floods,โ€
spot_img

Related Articles