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AMISTAD PROJECT FILES LAWSUIT TO STOP PA SCHOOL MASK MANDATE
Lawsuit argues PA Secretary of Health has no legal authority to impose a statewide mask mandate in schools
Plaintiffs include state lawmakers acting in their capacity as parents
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania/September 7, 2021 – The Amistad Project announced today that affiliated attorneys from Dillon, McCandless, King, Coulter, & Graham LLP filed a lawsuit in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania challenging the legality of the statewide school mask mandate issued by acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam.
The plaintiffs include Pennsylvania Senate President pro tempore Jake Corman and State Representative Jesse Topper, both acting in their capacity as parents, as well as Calvary Baptist Church and Hillcrest Christian Academy. Eight other parents of school children, including children with special needs, are also plaintiffs.
Tom King, lead attorney for Dillon, McCandless, King, Coulter, & Graham LLP, issued the following statement:
“This weekend, we filed a complaint against Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam to deny the imposition of draconian, unlawful mask mandates that are harming children across Pennsylvania. We filed this lawsuit on behalf of Calvary Baptist Church, Hillcrest Christian Academy, and ten parents of minor children, including children with special needs.
“We are arguing before the Court that Acting Secretary Beam does not have the authority to issue such a mandate under the Disease Prevention and Control Act. Since there is no authority under Pennsylvania law to keep students out of school, Secretary Beam is trampling on the rights of school children and their parents as she denies them the right to attend school in person. This type of regulatory overreach cannot stand in a free country.”
The state has until September 8 to respond to the lawsuit, and a court hearing is scheduled for September 16.
About The Amistad Project
For more information about The Amistad Project, please visit: http://theamistadproject.org/
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