Methacton's Facemask Policy Will Not Change Despite Commonwealth Court Ruling

LOWER PROVIDENCE, PA — A state appeals court ruling that determined the administration of Gov. Tom Wolf overstepped its authority in issuing a blanket, statewide facemask mandate for schools across the commonwealth will not affect Methacton students, the district announced Wednesday.

In a letter to district families, Superintendent David Zerbe sought to clear up some confusion on the Commonwealth Court's recent decision, which determined that Pennsylvania's acting secretary of health didn't go through the proper regulatory channels when she issued her statewide order mandating school students and staff wear face coverings while inside school buildings to help combat COVID-19.

"The PA Acting Secretary's school mask order was put into place after the Methacton School District approved its health and safety plan, which followed guidance of the Montgomery County Department of Public Health quarantine protocols, thus requiring masking in Methacton schools," Zerbe wrote in the communication to parents, which was posted online. "Therefore, this ruling has no direct relationship to the district's health and safety plan."

Zerbe said all Methacton students, staff and visitors will continue to be required to adhere to local masking policies established by the school board, which were put into place at the beginning of the school year.

"I will continue to monitor the court matter and appraise the district's Pandemic Team and Board of any such need to modify the district's current masking policy," Zerbe wrote.

The Commonwealth Court's ruling came just days after Gov. Wolf said the statewide masking mandate would be lifted and control over that decision would be returned to individual school districts throughout the commonwealth starting on Jan. 17, 2022.

Opponents of the statewide mask order had decried it as government overreach, saying that masking decisions should have been left to local school districts all along.

The school facemask issue has been one of the more controversial matters in recent Pennsylvania history, and one that has caused contentiousness at school board meetings throughout Montgomery County and beyond in the past number of months.

It has pitted public health advocates against privacy advocates who feel health decisions should be left up to the individual.