Spearman opposes McMaster, saying school boards should be able to decide mask rules

South Carolina Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman said Tuesday that school boards should be able to decide whether students, employees and visitors should be required to wear masks.

Spearman’s statement, made at a press conference alongside pediatricians and the state’s epidemiologist, contradicts S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster’s position that school boards should not be allowed to require masks.

“I do believe this issue is best handled by local school districts,” Spearman said. “I disagree with the governor.”

What’s more, the one-year law that blocks schools that receive state funding from implementing mask mandates does not lay out a punishment for districts that mandate masks, Spearman said. Therefore, it’s unclear what funding the state government could withhold from schools if they mandate masks, she said.

Coronavirus cases have been rising in South Carolina thanks to unvaccinated people and the prevalence of the delta variant.

The delta variant is not just more contagious than prior coronavirus strains, it is also more likely to manifest serious complications in children, Elizabeth Mack, the division chief of pediatric critical care medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina, said during the press conference.

“Now we’re seeing acute COVID in a very serious way” in children, Mack said. “This is very different than what we saw before.”

The combination of a coronavirus variant more dangerous to children and the lack of people using COVID-19 preventative measures like masking and getting vaccinated has Spearman less confident about school safety than last year, she said.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been this concerned,” Spearman said.

During the press conference, Leslie Jackson, the mother of twins who were born four years ago with severe respiratory illnesses, spoke. Jackson pleaded with the public to get vaccinated and wear masks.

“For my family, it’s our worst nightmare,” she said of COVID-19.

Jackson spoke just after pediatricians who dispelled myths about masks, such as the false perception that masks make it hard to breathe.

“My kids can breath just fine in a mask,” despite their lung illnesses, Jackson said.

All eyes have been on Kershaw County schools, where 8% of students are quarantined following an early school opening. But the issue is not unique to Kershaw County. On Saturday, S.C. posted 2,541 new coronavirus cases.

Spearman’s press conference follows an uprising from local school districts throughout the state against several one-year laws, termed provisos, that prevent schools from requiring masks in class and limit the percentage of students who can take virtual-only classes.

The provisos contradict advice from DHEC and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that say children should wear masks in schools.

Richland 1 and Charleston County Schools have already said they will require masks when school restarts. Pickens County, citing a spike in COVID-19 cases, will temporarily use online-only classes.

The resistance against the provisos has come from across the political spectrum. Pickens County is mainly a conservative area, Richland 1 is a Democratic stronghold and Charleston County has blue, red and purple areas throughout the county.

Following the backlash, a bipartisan group of state senators called for the General Assembly to reconvene and reconsider the rule banning mask mandates. Spearman said she supported the legislature reconvening to remove the proviso.

This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Spearman opposes McMaster, saying school boards should be able to decide mask rules."