Lawmakers split over new mask rule

By Taylor Brown

tbrown@yourmvi.com

Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to mandate masks in schools has sparked both criticism and support from area legislators. 

The order, signed under Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam’s authority provided by the Disease Prevention and Control Law, applies to everyone indoors at K-12 public schools. That includes brick-and-mortar and cyber charter schools, private and parochial schools, career and technical centers and intermediate units. 

It also applies to early learning programs and child care providers for children ages 2 and older, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but does not apply to school sports or outdoor activities.

State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, is strongly against the decision.

“It is unfathomable that the governor would look us in the eyes less than a month ago and say masks in schools should be a local decision, then hastily break his word today,” Bartolotta said. “Schools across the commonwealth have held town hall meetings, heard from parents, teachers and students and made their decisions regarding how to implement safety protocols in their schools based on the local impact COVID-19 is having on its community. 

“Now Gov. Wolf has once again pulled the rug out from under us with his ill-conceived, one-size-fits-all decision for the entire state.”

Bartolotta said the new order cannot be justified by science. 

“The medical evidence simply does not justify his policy made at the expense of the health and well-being of our children,” she said. “They remain far better able to respond to COVID-19 than older adults or people with pre-existing conditions, so compromising their health by requiring them to wear masks is simply foolish, especially given the emotional and developmental concerns of prolonged masking of young children.”

Bartolotta said the order is an overreach of authority and she plans to call on her Democratic colleagues to work “across the aisle” to enact  veto-proof legislation. 

Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Bullskin Township, echoed Bartolotta’s stance.

“Unfortunately, today’s masking announcement is yet another example of the governor making decisions on his own that impact the entire commonwealth. And this time, he even thumbed his nose at his own opinion,” Stefano said. “Just a short time ago, he made it publicly known that he would not impose any additional statewide mandates, but instead allow mitigation decisions to be made at the local level.

“And yet, his mandatory masking policy for students, teachers and staff is the complete opposite. How are we expected to trust an elected official who so quickly betrays his own word?”

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