Before a full panel of Commonwealth Court judges Wednesday, Butler Area School District solicitor Tom King defended a lawsuit the district filed against Gov. Tom Wolf and other state officials for requiring the district to attest to use remote instruction or commit to safety measures during to the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

In the virtual hearing, King argued against preliminary objections filed by Karen Romano, chief deputy attorney general, who argued in support of the objections and asked for dismissal of the case,

If the court rules in the district's favor, a hearing on the case will be held on the district's complaint.

King argued that the attestation requirements imposed on school districts by Wolf, then-Secretary of Health Rachel Levine and acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega was a usurpation of power granted to local school boards.

This is a breaking news report — read more in Thursday's Butler Eagle.