School students in Butler County and throughout the state can leave their masks at home Monday when they head for class.

The state Supreme Court on Friday threw out a statewide mandate by Gov. Tom Wolf's acting secretary of health, Alison Beam, that all students, staff and visitors wear masks at K-12 schools until Jan. 17.

The mandate was deemed invalid by the court because it was imposed by Beam without legal authorization.

Students and families can now decide whether to wear a mask at school moving forward.

Attorney Tom Breth, who represented several individuals and schools who originally petitioned the Commonwealth Court to throw out the mandate, was elated Friday that the mask mandate was thrown out by the court.

He said the action represents the final word on the argument, which went back and forth with various appeals and filings from the state attorney general and Breth.

Breth agrees with the court that Wolf's administration does not have the authority to issue a blanket mandate.

“We're thrilled we were able to hold them accountable for their actions,” Breth said.

Rebecca Boyd, a South Butler County School board member, said she fears that fewer masks will mean more cases of COVID-19 among students, which could lead to students once again learning at home.

“Until all age groups can be fully vaccinated, I think those kids are at risk,” Boyd said.

She said one needs only to look at the high number of COVID-19 cases at Butler Memorial Hospital to gauge the spread of the virus in the county.

“I think it's just a shame,” Boyd said.

Read more in Sunday's Butler Eagle.