Lawmaker: Pa. schools fear virus suits, need protection
HARRISBURG — While the state calls its messages to schools on COVID-19 guidance or recommendations, they actually are mandates because districts fear they will be sued if they do not conform and problems occur, a veteran Democratic senator told Wolf administration officials Wednesday.
Superintendents and school directors across the state are
afraid to do anything other than what the state says, said state Sen. Andrew Dinniman, a Chester County Democrat.
That fear, he said, shows the need for a “liability protection measure” that could originate with Gov. Tom Wolf but may end up coming from the Legislature.
Mr. Dinniman was speaking to Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine and Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera during a joint hearing held by the House and Senate education committees. The focus was on opening schools safely during the pandemic.
The Wolf administration previously said it would let districts come up with their own plans for reopening but also has provided guidance, including an order this week that students wear masks most of the time while in school.
Mr. Dinniman used Chester County as an example to illustrate the power of government words. Several Chester districts already had announced in-person classes or hybrid, remoteonly and live approaches when ― late Friday ― the Chester County Health Department recommended all in-person instruction wait until after Oct. 9.
Mr. Dinniman said all the districts subsequently canceled any plans for inperson classes before Oct. 9.
Dr. Levine said although her department is in regular contact with county health departments, she did not know of any discussions about the Chester situation.
Responding to statements from lawmakers, Dr. Levine said school reopenings are “a local control issue,” adding information from the state is not a mandate.
And, she said, state guidance was issued “at the very strong request” of school districts.
Some state guidance to districts was tailored specifically to whether the home county has a virus transmission risk considered “low” or “moderate” or “substantial.”
Dr. Levine said 44 counties were recently classified as moderate, 21 as low and two as substantial. But even in those counties with substantial risk, Dr. Levine said, the state did not recommend 100% remote learning.
“We all agree it would be much better for children to have in-person learning,” she said. But, she added, the state is in the middle of the worst pandemic since 1918.
Several lawmakers told Dr. Levine and Mr. Rivera the administration’s interaction with districts has been less than satisfactory.
State Rep. Valerie Gaydos, R-Moon, questioned why the Health Department has not posted on its website ― as other state governments have ― names of individuals outside state government who are advising it on COVID-19.
State Sen. David Arnold, R-Lebanon County, asked Mr. Rivera if it’s irresponsible for the state not to know how legally liable school districts might be if they don’t use the Health Department’s “so-called guidelines.”
Mr. Rivera said it is not irresponsible at all.
State government, he said, did the best job it could working with others to produce guidance and legislative language.
“This is how the process works,” Mr. Rivera said.
At one point, Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., RBedford, asked Dr. Levine if she could say how many Pennsylvanians younger than age 20 had died from COVID-19.
When Dr. Levine could not immediately answer, Mr. Langerholc said, “I have the information. The answer is ‘zero.’ ”
Later in her testimony, Dr. Levine said children can get COVID-19 and the illness can be serious, especially among high school-aged children. She also noted, in Pennsylvania, there have been 43 cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome, a coronavirus-related condition that causes inflammation in the skin, eyes, blood vessels and heart in children.
Mr. Langerholc, whose district includes Bedford and Cambria counties and part of Clearfield County, said superintendents are losing confidence in the Health Department because of repeated changes in guidance.