HARRISBURG, Pa. — Out of nine reasons for an exemption to Pennsylvania’s school mask mandate, school districts resisting the order are focusing on one hidden in Section 3B:
“If wearing a face covering would either cause a medical condition, or exacerbate an existing one, including respiratory issues that impede breathing, a mental health condition or a disability."
Using that wording, several school districts will allow students to go mask-less with just a parent’s signature certifying their child has one of those conditions.
Central York, South Eastern and South Western are among the school districts in York County that have released an exemption form for parents to sign.
Schools vary in whether they require parents to disclose the condition or have a medical professional approve and sign the exemption waiver.
Penn Manor and Northeastern York school districts have exemption forms but require a medical professional’s approval, which angered some parents.
“You all knew by saying I had to have a doctor’s note that there wouldn’t be a doctor in this town that would issue an exemption. You knew that, so that’s why you added it,” parent Sarah Hoak said at a Northeastern York school board meeting on Sept. 7.
Other parents are equally upset with school officials for violating the spirit of the masking mandate.
“Kids need to be in school. Being masked up, legitimate exemptions excluded, is the right thing to do,” said Josh Butler, a parent in the Penn Manor School District.
Parents’ objections may be a moot point, though, as legal experts said the loophole clearly violates the order and is unlikely to hold up in court.
“You have to have the exemption. It’s kind of like the exemption from the vaccine, that if you have a religious belief or you have a preexisting condition you’re not required to get vaccinated. But this is taking it to a whole new level,” said Scott Cooper, partner at law firm Schmidt Kramer.
Cooper warned parents who say their child has a medical condition could face negative complications in the future, as that condition could potentially affect matters ranging from employment to life insurance rates.
The loophole could also create issues for school districts, such as insurance liability if an employee gets sick from being in proximity to unmasked people.
“An insurance could certainly say the school district has violated the state order and so they’ve violated the insurance coverage,” Cooper said.
The state Department of Education already sent a letter to an undisclosed school district warning officials in violation of the mandate could face lawsuits and a federal civil rights probe.
A few school districts are defying the order entirely. Red Lion Area School District said in a public letter the mandate was functionally not enforceable, so masks there remain optional.