Mask Mandate Loophole Allowing PA Students To Ditch Masks

PENNSYLVANIA — With controversy and frustration still brewing over the mask mandate in classrooms with the new school year starting, some districts in Pennsylvania have apparently found a way around it.

Some schools are allowing students to not wear a mask so long as they have a parent's note, the Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed Friday.Under the mandate passed by the state, a student is not required to wear a mask if they have a specific medical condition qualified by a health professional. But some students and schools are capitalizing on the loophole, not providing any medical documentation of a qualifying condition.

"We are aware of the scenario referenced," a spokesperson for the Department of Health told Patch when reached for comment Friday afternoon, noting that it's taking place in "some" school districts. An exact number remains unknown.

Around 50 schools were spot-checked by the Associated Press, who first reported the issue this week. At least 12 of those 50 were allowing students to come in maskless without a note from a medical professional, their report states.

The state says that this is absolutely not allowed, and that local districts should follow federal disability law which requires a medical release.

"School entities should follow their established processes for determining student eligibility under those laws, including any medical documentation that they would normally require," reads the state's FAQ page, which was linked to in response to the inquiry with the Department of Health.

Some school districts are in open defiance of the order from the state, like the Tamaqua Area School District in Schuylkill County. The school board voted to maintain their own health and safety plan last week which makes masks optional.

"While this topic may have caused a divide in our community, I want to reassure the families in our district that the faculty and staff are committed to providing a quality educational environment for all students," Superintendent Raymond J. Kinder wrote in a letter home to families. "Our distinguished teaching staff is prepared to meet this challenge. Students that choose to wear masks and those who choose not to wear masks should feel comfortable doing so in the educational environment. I ask that students support each other in their choices and show respect to one another."

It's unclear what enforcement or punishment, if any, districts like Tamaqua may face from the state. For any doctors who may be offering "blanket exemptions" to mask wearing, the state asks that complaints be filed online.

Gov. Tom Wolf's decision to mandate masks in all schools, announced on the eve of the start of the school year, came after he noted extreme reluctance from local districts to enforce voluntary state guidance. "Strikingly," he said at the time, only 59 school districts out of 474 statewide submitted health and safety plans that mandate masks.

The mandate in schools continues to be one of the most controversial points of the latest period of the virus, which has seen the delta variant cause a surge in cases around the state and nation.