PA School Mask Mandate Starts Tuesday: What You Need To Know​

PENNSYLVANIA — Citing inaction at the local level and the uniquely dangerous threat posed to students by the delta variant, Gov. Tom Wolf's administration mandated that masks must be worn in all schools across Pennsylvania.

The order goes into effect on Tuesday, Sept. 7. Here's what you need to know about the controversial order:

Who it impacts

All students and staff in all K-12 schools, public and private, regardless of vaccination status. Early learning programs and child care providers for children ages 2 and older also fall under the mandate.

Where a mask is required

Inside school buildings and on school transportation. It is not required outdoors, or for school sports activities.

Why are masks needed if the vaccination rate is high?

Officials have pointed to several reasons: chiefly, children under 12 are not yet eligible for the vaccine, so they're afforded no protection against the virus.

Secondly, children are much more susceptible to the delta variant than previous strains of the virus to which they were curiously resistant.

Thirdly, pediatric hospitalizations have already shot up in several parts of the state, including Bucks County.

Even healthy, vaccinated individuals who show no symptoms can transmit the delta strain of COVID-19, health officials say.

Finally, without masking, officials worry that outbreaks of delta could cause schools to be locked down, which would be a devastating blow after last year's learning was so heavily impacted by the pandemic.

How long is it in place for?

Indefinitely. The state says they will lift the order when the risk is sufficiently reduced.

Is it legal?

The Department of Health says they have the legal authority to issue such a directive through Pennsylvania's Disease and Prevention Control law.

Why was a mandate needed?

This is what leading Republicans in Pennsylvania argue.

Wolf had initially left the decision up to local school districts, while the Department of Health followed the CDC's recommendation and issued guidance that masks should be required. However, only a small percentage of school districts in the state followed through with mandates.

GOP leadership maintains that the decision should be a local one, and that every district is not impacted by the virus in the same way.