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Posted on 08/06/2021 6:11:48 PM PDT by lightman
Responding to questions from state lawmakers, Pennsylvania Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam said Friday there are no plans to implement a statewide masking requirement for students in schools.
However, Beam stressed state officials are strongly recommending school districts decide on their own to have students wear masks in schools. Combined with vaccines and social distancing, Beam stressed masks can help reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19.
The Senate Education Committee held a hearing in the state Capitol Friday afternoon on school policies, as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have risen in Pennsylvania and nationwide. The hearing again illustrated the tensions between the GOP-controlled General Assembly and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration on policies in the classroom just weeks before the start of a new school year.
On Friday, Wolf told reporters in Philadelphia he didn’t plan to institute a statewide mask order for schools, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. “I think the school districts in Pennsylvania have to decide what they want to do,” Wolf said.
In the hearing in Harrisburg, Republican lawmakers repeatedly questioned Beam and Education Secretary Noe Ortega about whether local school boards and parents would be able to make decisions on masking in schools. Beam was asked if the Wolf administration is looking at trying to require masks in schools and if the administration has the authority to do so.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently recommended all students wear mask in schools, regardless of their vaccination status. For now, COVID-19 vaccines are only available to children 12 and older, although health officials expect approval will be given for younger kids in the coming months.
Answering questions from lawmakers, Beam said, “At this time, there is not a plan to implement a masking mandate in schools.”
She also reiterated her strong support for the CDC guidance. She said masks, combined with vaccinations and social distancing, offer a multi-layered strategy to keep children in classrooms and avoid remote learning.
Earlier this week, Beam told PennLive’s editorial board there are no plans for a statewide mask order for schools. However, when asked about the possibility of mandated face masks in schools, she said, “At this stage, all bets are on the table.”
With school opening almost here, Pa. scrambles to prepare for COVID-19
During Friday’s hearing, Beam was asked if a mask order was coming or what would trigger a statewide requirement, but she said on multiple occasions, the Wolf administration isn’t looking at a statewide order. She also referenced the recent referendum which curbed the governor’s powers in disaster declarations.
Republican lawmakers pushed a change in the state constitution which was approved by voters in the May primary. Wolf no longer has the power to unilaterally extend an emergency declaration for 90 days. The constitutional change now limits those declarations to 21 days and gives lawmakers the sole authority to decide whether to extend or end them with a simple majority vote. In June, lawmakers used that authority for the first time to end Wolf’s COVID-19 emergency disaster declaration.
Beam noted the change and said it will be more difficult for such statewide orders. She also asked lawmakers what steps they will undertake to protect students and teachers.
“We are in a difficult spot given where this Legislature has put us,” Beam said.
Later in the hearing, Senate Education Committee Chairman Scott Martin took issue with the health secretary’s characterization.
“It was the people of Pennsylvania that inserted the General Assembly into the emergency declaration,” said Martin, a Lancaster County Republican. PRLA rally on the Capitol steps
The mask question dominated much of the hearing on school policies. State Sen. Judy Ward, a Blair County Republican whose district includes parts of Cumberland and Franklin counties, said parents are worried about the impact of kids wearing masks in school all day.
“Parents are concerned about the effects of masking all day,” Ward said. “I’m not sure we have the evidence to reassure parents it wouldn’t be a problem to mask all day.”
Ward is planning to introduce legislation that would allow families to “opt out” of a school district’s mask requirement.
Most central Pennsylvania school districts are not requiring students to wear masks in school buildings. But two school districts in Dauphin County - Susquehanna Township and Steelton-Highspire - said they would require masks. Citing the uptick in cases, Carlisle School District Superintendent Christina Spielbauer said Thursday students would be required to wear masks in school buildings and buses beginning Monday. Other school districts said they would consider revising their policies if COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
State Sen. Doug Mastriano, a Franklin County Republican, said he thought parents should decide on the best course of action for students. Mastriano said the Wolf administration’s mitigation measures employed last year were overly restrictive, given the rarity of severe COVID-19 cases among children.
“Parents need to make the choice,” Mastriano said. “They know better than you.”
In response to questions from Mastriano, Beam said there have been 14 deaths in Pennsylvania among children between the ages of 15 and 19. She said there have been other deaths among children younger than 15 but didn’t have a precise figure. But she said masks represent another level of protection for kids.
Other questions arose regarding school districts requiring students to wear masks on buses. The CDC’s mask order requires individuals to wear masks in public transportation settings, including airports, mass transit and buses.
Martin said that school buses aren’t truly “public transportation” because they are only used by children enrolled in the district.
Most central Pennsylvania school districts said they are requiring students to wear masks on buses, in accordance with the CDC order.
Beam noted the CDC order is a federal issue, not a state order, and schools will have to consider the consequences of not adhering to the requirement. But she said part of the CDC’s guidance entails ensuring public transportation systems - including school bus services - are protected. Pa. Sen. Judy Ward makes a case for voter ID requirement
Pennsylvania Sen. Judy Ward, a Blair County Republican, said she plans to introduce a bill that would allow parents to "opt out" of a school district's requirement for students to wear masks.
Lawmakers asked the education secretary what can be done to help students feel less anxious after a school year with so much uncertainty. Ortega responded that it’s crucial to do whatever is possible to maintain some degree of normalcy so kids have their best chance to learn. He said educators have stepped up but more must be done because high levels of stress and anxiety can make it difficult for children to learn.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Ortega said.
Beam stressed the administration’s key priority is to keep kids in the classroom and avoid returning to remote learning.
“The focus on maintaining in-person instruction is the core guiding principle for the Wolf administration in the 2021-22 school year,” Beam said.
In response to questions from lawmakers, Sherri Smith, acting deputy education secretary, said she’s not aware of any school district who isn’t planning to return to full-time, in-person instruction.
State Sen. Timothy Kearney, a Democrat representing parts of Chester and Delaware counties, said he was disappointed by the questions of some of the lawmakers at the hearing. Kearney said lawmakers were missing the broader priority of doing more to protect the health of children in schools.
Too many of the comments from lawmakers “are really trying to pit families against each other,” Kearney said.
“It’s frankly disappointing instead of talking about how to protect our families ... We’re playing legalistic ‘gotchas’ with the secretaries,” Kearney said.
Statewide, nearly 1,700 new COVID-19 cases were reported Friday, and the state has regularly reported well over 1,000 cases in recent days. Several weeks ago, the state was only seeing around 200 new infections per day.
There are now 668 people in hospitals due to COVID-19. On July 13, only 256 people were hospitalized. While COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations remain well under peaks (there were more than 6,300 in hospitals last winter), the numbers have climbed steadily in recent days.
And there were EIGHT new deaths.
Just eight.
Pennsylvania Ping!
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Probably about the same ratio of traffic citations written to crash deaths statewide in the same period.
NYS is doing the same thing.
So much for public health, eh?
That leftard idiot didnt go full mask mandate due to the election year...
Early on in 2020 Wolf was lockstep with Cuomo and Murphy.
He has backed away from the “Northeast Compact” and appears to be positioning himself as a “moderate”...maybe in the hopes that if Kamelalala is ruled ineligible he could become the VP and then to the Gerald Ford thing...
Weasel words. Plans can change.
They can.
I think what’s really driving this, though, is that parents are pulling their kids out of publik skrewls.
I don’t think Deep State planned for that...
Tommie “The Commie” Wolf WILL institute the mask mandate, right before more lockdowns. Just wait...
I think there were only a few hospitalizations back when bozo wolf originally declared the emergency in March 2020.
Yup, he cried “Wolf” with the most of the Governors in March 2020 but the REAL wave didn’t hit until just after Thanksgiving.
Peak hospitalizations of 6151 was reached on Christmas Day.
I think with fetterman on the campaign trail, wolf is just the simpleton he was before he became governor. Cry baby fetterman is the vindictive commie of the bunch.
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