Today, November 30, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided to keep the school mask mandate in place until at least December 8, when the court will hear oral arguments. This ruling overturns the previous decision by the Commonwealth Court that allowed the school mask mandate for K-12 schools and day care centers to expire on December 4, 2021.
The previous Commonwealth Court ruling sided with the challengers, stating that acting Health Secretary Alison Beam did not have the authority to order a mask mandate.
Even though the back-and-forth court rulings have made it difficult to keep current on when the mask ruling will expire, Governor Wolf separately announced earlier in November that he planned to lift the mask mandate for K-12 schools effective January 17, allowing school leaders to once again decide the mitigation efforts at the local level.
