Philadelphia Reimposes School Mask Mandate
The Philadelphia school district is reimposing the K-12 indoor mask mandate for students and staff beginning Monday.
Masks will need to be worn in school facilities and while riding on public school transportation.
The decision to resume mandatory masking was made in response to a spike in Covid-19 cases in the region and per the recommendation of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH), superintendent William Hite said in a statement Friday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classified Philadelphia as having a “medium” level of community Covid-19 transmission.
Hite also reminded that positive Covid-19 tests must be reported to the school system. “As we’ve learned since the pandemic began, the coronavirus continues to evolve and so too will our response to it,” he said.
Following a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that ended the statewide school masking mandate, four lawsuits were launched in February against the Pittsburgh- and Philadelphia-area school districts, accusing them of failing to protect medically vulnerable students under the Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, a civil-rights law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability.
However, in March, a judge with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed their complaints, citing a drop in Covid-19 cases at the time and noting that “the absence of a live controversy renders this matter moot,” he wrote in an order.
While some parents in Pennsylvania claimed that universal masking is necessary to protect all students in K-12, especially those still ineligible for a vaccine, other parents believe masking policies have greatly if not irreparably hindered their children’s academic and social development.
The Philadelphia school district did not specify when the reinstated mask mandate would expire, asking students and staff to comply “until further notice.” There are only about three weeks left in the district’s school calendar year, so it’s unclear whether the mandate will last until then.
