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Pennsylvania state-owned university enrollment drops

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Total enrollment at Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities has declined to the lowest level in decades, according to data released Monday. The State System of Higher Education figures indicate loss of another 5,000-plus students this fall, dropping the universities' total enrollment below 89,000 students — a level not seen in more than three decades, dating nearly to its founding, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. PennLive.com reported that the percentage drop in enrollment was the highest in well over two decades. System officials earlier warned ...

School board agrees to follow mask mandates

The school board is toeing the line on the state mask mandate. At a special meeting Friday morning, all nine members voted in favor of rescinding previous decisions easing mask requirements in the district. About 100 people, including the board members, district personnel, parents, students, and others were online for the meeting. Five people signed up to address the board – four did so – all of them against the mask mandate. First, the board approved, without discussion, a motion to rescind a previous decision to penalize by only warnings those who do not wear masks on district ...

Attorney calls Friday’s vote ‘step in the right direction’

Friday’s votes by the Warren County School District to undo its efforts to circumvent state masking requirements are a “step in the right direction but not... the end of the road.” That’s according to the attorney, Ken Behrend, who brought the federal lawsuit against the district and school board earlier this week. “First of all, my clients are happy to see the school board has decided to take the right choice,” Ken Behrend told the Times Observer on Friday. “(It) was a good vote this morning.” But, he cautioned, it does not make the lawsuit disappear. “It may ...

Masks now required for indoor school events

Those attending Warren County School District indoor events will have to wear masks, effective immediately. According to a Thursday afternoon district release, “all students attending an event will either be masked or have an exemption based on Section 504 or their IEP” and “all other ...

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations rise among vaccinated in PA

The proportion of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations among vaccinated Pennsylvania residents rose sharply last month, though the shot remained broadly protective, according to new statewide health data obtained by The Associated Press. The latest Department of Health data on so-called ...

School district to hold special meeting Friday on mask issue

A day after the announcement that the Warren County School District was being sued over its mask policy, the school board got to work setting up a meeting. That special meeting will be held at 8 a.m. Friday. The purposes of the meeting expressed in a legal notice are: rescinding motions regarding masking, acting on the ARP ESSER Health and Safety Plan, and engaging legal counsel. On Monday, a group of local parents, representing children in the district, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in Erie. The lawsuit asked for injunctive relief ...