Several Butler County parents of school children are among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the state's Department of Health, and its recent order on face coverings in schools.

State Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-34th, and Rep. Jesse Topper, R-78th, are also involved in the lawsuit that was filed Friday, challenging the Department of Health's authority to enact the order regarding the wearing of face coverings in schools, and alleging the department does not comply with the requirements of the Disease Control and Prevention Law of 1955.

The lawsuit was filed by Butler attorney Tom King, of Dillon McCandless King Coulter & Graham.

Local petitioners of the lawsuit include James and Michelle Reich, who have children in the Slippery Rock Area School District; Adam and Chelsea McClure, who have a child in the Butler Area School District; Victoria Baptiste, who has children in the Butler Area School District; and Jennifer Baldacci, who has a child in Butler Area School District. Calvary Academy in Butler is also a petitioner.

The plaintiffs' petition is asking the court that the order be reviewed and reversed, claiming it is illegal. The written petition alleges in part that the plaintiffs' children's education will be disrupted by continuing to wear masks in schools.

Additionally, several of the parents involved in the lawsuit say in written statements that they do not intend to have their children comply with the mask order on its effective date, which is Tuesday.

The case's first hearing is scheduled for Sept. 16 in Harrisburg in Commonwealth Court.