HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania schools need a statewide requirement that students in classrooms wear masks as protection against the coronavirus, Gov. Tom Wolf wrote in a letter Wednesday to legislative leaders.

The message was a turnaround for 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-34th, and House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-100th, to call lawmakers back to Harrisburg immediately to work on a bill to order schools and child care facilities to require masks in classrooms.

Concerned parents, pediatricians, teachers and others have been urging state officials for such a mandate, Wolf said.

Wolf’s administration last year mandated that masks be worn by students most of the time they are in school.

Wolf’s letter said that at the end of July, just 59 of 474 school district plans submitted to the Education Department mandated masks for the just-starting 2021-22 school year.

“It is clear that action is needed to ensure children are safe as they return to school,” Wolf said.

Wolf told Cutler and Corman he has “become increasingly concerned about misinformation being spread to try to discredit a school district’s clear ability to implement masking” as well as “local control being usurped by the threat — implicit or explicit — of political consequences for making sound public health and education decisions.”

A spokesperson for Cutler said the two leaders were reviewing Wolf’s letter.

A spokesperson for House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-17th, said the House GOP caucus was against voting on a statewide mask mandate.

“Just because there’s not a statewide mandate requiring people to wear masks doesn’t mean people don’t have the option to wear masks,” said Benninghoff spokesperson Jason Gottesman.

Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-39th, put out a written statement late Tuesday that said she was confident that parents and districts can make the best decisions for their children.

“As I have consistently stated, it is important to ensure the resources available and decisions being made are not used to strong-arm or pressure individuals,” Ward said.

The Pennsylvania State Education Association released a statement Wednesday that praised Wolf’s letter.

“This is so important that we believe policymakers should explore all possible avenues to ensuring our schools remain safe, including legislative action, if that is the best way to achieve this,” PSEA President Rich Askey said.