Perkiomen schools must enforce masking, federal judge rules

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A federal judge is telling a Montgomery County school district to put the masks back on.

In a 60-page opinion, Judge Wendy Beetlestone sides with the families of three students who argued that lifting the universal mask mandate in the Perkiomen Valley School District violated the Americans with Disabilities Act — specifically, the deprivation of education amid what the judge calls a “heightened risk of serious illness or death.”

The Perkiomen Valley School Board had voted to make masks optional, not required, beginning Jan. 24, but the families of those three students filed a federal suit.

The students have asthmas and related health issues, according to their families. The suit said the children could not safely attend school if masks weren’t required.

A temporary restraining order issued earlier this week, which required masks in all Perkiomen school buildings and at all activities, was set to expire on Tuesday.

In her opinion, Beetlestone writes, “Plaintiffs have provided evidence showing optional masking policies increase the rate of transmission of COVID-19 and thus the likelihood the will become infected and suffer serious illness or worse.”

The judge heard hours of testimony on Friday, when lawyers for the families pointed to masking recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Montgomery County Office of Public Health. Beetlestone ultimately agreed that universal masking is part of a layered approach to limiting or reducing the spread of COVID-19.

Officials from the school district also testified on Friday, explaining how the district was moving away from universal masking as there’s growing evidence that the value of masks is decreasing as vaccination rates climb and student mental health concerns soar.

Perkiomen Valley has a scheduled board meeting Monday evening, where the next steps are likely to be discussed.