Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Wolf Letter On School Mask Mandate

    Uploaded by

    Spotlight PA
    80K views2 pages
    Sent to Republican leaders on Aug. 25, 2022.

    Original Title

    Wolf letter on school mask mandate

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    Sent to Republican leaders on Aug. 25, 2022.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    80K views2 pages

    Wolf Letter On School Mask Mandate

    Uploaded by

    Spotlight PA
    Sent to Republican leaders on Aug. 25, 2022.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 2

    COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

    OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

    August 25, 2021

    The Honorable Jake Corman The Honorable Bryan Cutler


    President Pro Tempore Speaker
    Senate of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania House of Representatives
    350 Main Capitol Building 139 Main Capitol Building
    Harrisburg, PA 17120 Harrisburg, PA 17120

    Dear President Pro Tempore Corman and Speaker Cutler:

    On May 18, 2021, Pennsylvanians voted to provide the General Assembly with a greater role in the
    management of emergencies in Pennsylvania. The next day, I reached out to you and other legislative
    leaders to express my desire to build on the accomplishments of our joint Vaccine Task Force and continue
    to work together. I write today to again ask that we work together to manage this ongoing COVID-19
    emergency.

    Over the past several weeks, despite joint efforts through the Vaccine Task Force that have made
    Pennsylvania one of the national leaders in vaccinations, COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths have
    all been on a sharp rise (though fortunately, at this time, not at the same rate as other states), right at the
    time when our students, teachers and support staff are heading back to the classroom. During this same time
    period, I have become increasingly concerned about misinformation being spread to try to discredit a school
    district’s clear ability to implement masking to protect their students and staff, and the premise of local
    control being usurped by the threat – implicit or explicit – of political consequences for making sound
    public health and education decisions.

    Recently, my administration has seen an outpouring of calls from parents, teachers, pediatricians
    and others urging action to mandate masking in K-12 classrooms due to the inaction of many school
    districts. This is not due to an organized form letter campaign. Constituents, primarily parents of young
    children who are not able to be vaccinated, are very concerned about the lack of a mask mandate in their
    school district. They report that their school districts are either refusing to implement them because of
    political pressure or false claims about their efficacy. Overwhelmingly, these parents’ messages favor a
    statewide mask mandate for schools, especially in schools where children cannot be vaccinated yet. I have
    also been contacted by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics imploring action.

    Despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that all K-12 schools
    should require masks, strikingly, as of July 30, only 59 school districts out of the 474 that submitted health
    and safety plans to the Department of Education have implemented mandatory masking policies. It is clear
    that action is needed to ensure children are safe as they return to school.

    For most of the past 18 months, the legislature has asked for my administration to defer to local
    governments and local organizations when making mitigation decisions. We have done that to the extent
    possible while still providing broad public health guidance. Now instead of letting school districts,
    universities, and other organizations make these decisions free of duress, some in the legislature appear to
    be pressuring these organizations to make specific decisions. There has been legislation proposed to take
    decision-making authority away from school districts, and some legislators have wrongly suggested that
    schools districts lack the authority to mandate masks.

    When students need to quarantine due to COVID-19 infection or exposure, their learning is
    interrupted by another transition out of the classroom. Additionally, parents may need to stay home from
    work to take care of them, which in turn means that workers cannot work – making workers, businesses
    and in turn our entire economy suffer both in the short and long term. The same logic holds true for child
    care centers. The science is clear that masks reduce virus transmission and that they, along with our
    vaccination efforts, give us the best chance to keep our classrooms and child care centers open instead of
    having them shut down due to COVID infections among Pennsylvania’s children.

    As we continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, my administration has sought to include


    the legislature in our efforts and make the process more collaborative. I am asking you to call the General
    Assembly back to Harrisburg immediately to work with me to pass legislation that will require schools and
    child care centers to implement masking requirements while in the classroom. My administration will
    continue to monitor the situation, communicate and work with the General Assembly and take actions as
    needed to keep our children safe, and in the classroom. With school having already started in many areas
    of the state, the time to act is now.

    Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to your response.

    Sincerely,

    TOM WOLF
    Governor

    cc: The Honorable Kim Ward, Majority Leader, Senate of Pennsylvania


    The Honorable Kerry Benninghoff, Majority Leader, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
    The Honorable Jay Costa, Democratic Leader, Senate of Pennsylvania
    The Honorable Joanna McClinton, Democratic Leader, Pennsylvania House of Representatives

    You might also like