LMSD Still Requiring Masks Despite Court Tossing Mandate

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA — Despite the Commonwealth Court ruling Gov. Tom Wolf's school mask mandate illegal, the Lower Merion School District is still enforcing its own masking policy.

The district Friday said masks will be required for all students, staff and visitors in LMSD buildings and on LMSD transportation.

Masking is required regardless of anyone's vaccination status, the district said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education said the state will appeal the order, triggering a stay of the court's ruling and keeping the mask mandate in effect.

The court handed down a 4-1 decision Wednesday in the latest development amid the ongoing controversy surrounding both masking and Gov. Tom Wolf's use of his executive powers.

Judges said that the order was illegal because a public health emergency was no longer in place at the time, and because Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam did not follow the necessary procedural steps leading up to the order.

The court decision comes just days after Gov. Wolf said the school mask mandate would be lifted on Jan. 17, 2022, and control over the matter would be returned to local leaders. Vaccinations for children ages 5 to 11 are now underway, and with immunization rates going up, the state "is in a different place" than it was in September when the mandate was first issued, Wolf said.

Read more about the mask mandate ruling here.