Appeals court drops masks
Dismisses mandate suit vs. Parkland, other school districts
A state appellate court dismissed a lawsuit that challenged the right of Pennsylvania school districts to impose mask mandates — ruling, among other things, that the issue is moot because mandates are no longer in force.
The Commonwealth Court ruling, released Thursday, rebuffed nine parents of school-age children who sued districts across the state, including Parkland School District, and former state education Secretary Noe Ortega.
A statewide mask mandate for schoolchildren was thrown out by the state Supreme Court last year, leaving the decision to require masks to districts. The parents contended districts had no authority to require students and visitors to wear them and that Ortega was wrong to say they do.
The ruling marks a significant victory, said attorney Peter Amuso of the Rudolph Clarke law firm in Phila
delphia, who represented Bucks County’s Pennsbury School District and coordinated the efforts of attorneys advising the other defendants.
“Through the school code, our Legislature has granted local school boards broad power to protect students based on local conditions,” Amuso said in a statement. “We were proud to protect those broad powers for Pennsbury and our other school district clients, and for all school districts . ... We continue to be ready to assist our clients facing these complex safety issues.”
In a November 2021 email to districts, Ortega wrote, in part, “school entities still possess the authority and are encouraged to require masks in their facilities as recommended by [the] CDC,” as noted in the 19-page ruling.
The plaintiffs said Ortega “erred by advising the School District Respondents that they could enact masking policies” and that school districts “lack the authority to implement mask mandates,” according to the ruling.
Commonwealth Court Judge Christine Fizzano Cannon wrote that Ortega’s advice “was not an order, directive, requirement or mandate” and said the petition for review was “moot” since schools no longer require masks.
On Oct. 11, Amuso argued in front of the Commonwealth Court that school districts do have the authority under Section 510 of the Public School Code to require masks.
“We are pleased the lawsuit was dismissed,” Parkland spokesperson Nicole McGalla said in an email.