The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday affirmed a lower court ruling that the state’s acting secretary of health did not have the authority to issue a mandatory mask mandate for schools in August.

The ruling ends the mandate effective immediately. Going forward, school districts can implement their own masking policies as they see fit.

The court, in a four-sentence order, affirmed a decision by the state Commonwealth Court last month that said that Acting Secretary Alison Beam did not follow the proper rule-making procedures when she issued the mask requirement for anyone entering a K-12 school building.

The order said an opinion would follow.

Elizabeth Rementer, a spokeswoman for Gov. Tom Wolf, said the administration was evaluating the decision, but considered the outcome “extremely disappointing.”

“The administration’s top priority from the beginning of this pandemic has been and remains protecting public health and safety, including students and staff, to ensure in-person learning continues,” she said. “(T)he administration recognizes that many school districts want to ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for students and staff, and we are hopeful they will make appropriate mitigation decisions moving forward.”

Parents filed suit against Wolf’s administration, arguing that Beam overstepped her authority when she issued the order to combat a surge of covid-19 cases as the delta variant spread early in the school year.

After the Commonwealth Court ruling last month, the administration appealed.

Wolf had announced even before the Commonwealth Court’s decision that he would lift the mask mandate as of Jan. 17. Legal experts said the administration appealed not only because it thought masks would keep children safer, but also because it wanted to avoid creating bad legal precedent when it came to administrative agencies being able to issue such orders.

In arguments made before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, the attorney general’s office said the mask mandate served as a type of modified quarantine by forbidding people from entering school buildings without a mask.

Duquesne University Law Professor Bruce Ledewitz said the fact the ruling came so quickly means that the Commonwealth Court decision was “solidly received” by the Supreme Court.

“The arguments are not about masks, but administrative authority. It means the argument against the mandate were very solidly grounded,” he said.

Ledewitz said that the decision shows the Supreme Court is not partisan.

“It ruled against a Democratic governor, and I think that’s a good thing for democracy,” he said. “The court has been accused of being partisan, but this is a good example of calling it straight down the middle.”

Ledewitz said the decision means there will be local control over masking — like there often is in school matters.

Mark DiRocco, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, said that his membership will be split on the court’s decision.

“I think some of our school leaders will be happy with this and some will be disappointed,” he said.

DiRocco said that about half of those in his organization were glad when the state stepped in, and the other half thought it ought to be a local decision, which is what will happen now.

“Everything reverts back to local schools,” DiRocco said. “There’s not state authority saying ‘you have to do this.’ They’ll have to make those decisions based on what they think is in the best interests of those that they serve.”

Rementer, the governor’s spokeswoman, said the administration urges school districts to prioritize the health and safety of their students and staff when making mitigation decisions.

“​Masking is a proven and simple way to keep kids in school without interruption and participate in sports and other extracurricular activities,” she said, adding that universal masking in schools is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics. “(Masking) reduces the risk that entire classrooms will need to quarantine due to a positive Covid-19 case.”

Ebony Pugh, a spokeswoman for Pittsburgh Public Schools, said the district will continue its masking protocols as included in the approved health and safety plan.

“This means that students and staff will continue wearing masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status,” she said.

It’s unclear what will happen in the Norwin School District.

At its meeting on Monday, the board voted to move its meetings in January to a location off the school campus, but within the school district boundaries — North Irwin, Irwin and North Huntingdon — where board members and the public do not need to wear a mask. The site was one that would offer the ability to broadcast the meetings over social media.

Norwin Superintendent Jeff Taylor could not be reached for comment Friday night. Alex Detschelt, one of the Republican board members who sought to move the meetings off school property, declined to comment Friday on the lifting of the mask mandate.

Detschelt, along with fellow board members Christine Baverso, Shawna Ilagan and Robert Wayman, did not wear masks during Monday’s meeting, nor did several members of the audience.

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