HARRISBURG (AP) — Masks will be required in all Pennsylvania public and private schools, as well as child care facilities, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Tuesday, reversing course amid a statewide COVID-19 resurgence that is filling hospital beds just as students return to class. The Department ...
Whether students and staff should be required to mask up in Pennsylvania schools will remain a local decision, at least for now, after top Republican lawmakers on Thursday rejected Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s call for a statewide mandate. The majority of districts are not requiring masks as students return to class, and just 36% of Pennsylvania residents between the ages of 12 and 17 are fully vaccinated, according to recent federal data. Children under 12 are not eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Republican leaders acknowledged that coronavirus cases are again surging across the ...
HARRISBURG (AP) — Pennsylvania school leaders are figuring out how to use billions in federal coronavirus relief, a flood of cash that can help lower class sizes, underwrite construction projects, and assist children in catching up after a year and a half of educational disruption. “It’s a game changer for us,” said Brian Polito, superintendent of Erie City Schools, which recently finished a three-year process of long-term planning, including projected facilities upgrades. “This is really helping us jump start those plans and put them in motion.” Erie, with more than ...
HARRISBURG (AP) — The State Ethics Commission on Thursday said the superintendent of Pittsburgh’s public schools submitted “negligent” reimbursements for travel and was improperly paid for days off when he was not working for the school district. The three-page order also said Superintendent Anthony Hamlet violated ethics rules by taking money for public appearances, speeches or presentations related to his public position. The commission ordered him to pay $1,750 to the state and $6,200 to the school district and to forfeit 14 vacation days. He was also directed to file ...
HARRISBURG (AP) — Pennsylvania schools need a statewide requirement that students in classrooms wear masks as protection against the coronavirus, the Democratic governor wrote in a letter Wednesday to legislative leaders. The message was a turnaround for Gov. Tom Wolf, who had maintained that a mask mandate was an issue for school boards to decide and questioned why Pennsylvania should mandate something that wasn’t mandated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In his letter, Wolf asked Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre, and House Speaker Bryan ...
HARRISBURG (AP) — Inmates in Pennsylvania state prisons will be counted in their home districts and not where their prisons are located after a divided vote Tuesday by the five-member panel redrawing legislative district maps this year. The Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission voted 3-2 for the policy change that was introduced by House Minority Leader Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia. “We cannot wait another 10 years. The time to correct this injustice is now,” she said. The vote changes the longstanding policy of counting inmates toward state House and Senate ...
