Acting state Secretary of Health Alison Beam's Aug. 31 order requiring all students and staff to wear face masks in schools to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 is a regulation that wasn't subject to regulatory review, and wearing masks is not among the disease control measures included in the Disease Control and Prevention Law of 1955 that she is allowed to order, according to arguments from a Butler lawyer to the Commonwealth Court Wednesday.

Butler attorney Tom Breth argued those points in Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg on behalf of parents seeking emergency relief from the mandate.

Karen Romano, chief deputy attorney general, countered Breth's arguments by saying wearing masks is a disease control measure and the order is not a regulation.

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