Breaking with state law, Charleston County schools will make students wear face masks

In a move that puts the school district at risk of losing state funding, Charleston County schools decided that everyone — students, employees and visitors — must wear a mask or face covering in schools until at least Oct. 15.

The requirement takes effect immediately.

The decision, made Monday by the school board during a special-called meeting, makes the Charleston County School District the first public school system to openly defy South Carolina law.

School board members voted 8-1 to pass the mask mandate. Board members noted that Charleston County schools were able to stay open for in-person instruction all of last year thanks to COVID-19 safety measures that included face masks.

By contrast, one South Carolina school district — Pickens County — has already temporarily closed schools within days of resuming in-person classes this month due to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases among students and staff members.

Masks in schools have been a point of major tension in South Carolina after the state Legislature aimed to block most mandates.

In the state budget — a one-year law — lawmakers included a temporary measure stipulating that public schools that get state dollars cannot issue mask mandates.

It went into effect July 1, weeks before the Centers for Disease Control recommended universal indoor masking in schools for teachers, staff, students and visitors, even if they are vaccinated.

The federal health agency updated its guidance on July 27, as the delta variant of the coronavirus spreads in areas where vaccination rates are low. Two days later, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control followed suit by recommending that masks be worn by everyone inside South Carolina schools.

In a statement released at the time by the agency, DHEC Director Dr. Edward Simmer said the agency’s first priority was the safety of South Carolina’s children and teachers.

“Our students and educators deserve the right to learn and teach in a safe, healthy environment, and vaccinations will make that possible. The use of masks and other precautions recommended in our guidance will also help ensure a safe, healthy environment in our schools especially with the emergence of the delta variant,” Simmer said.

Vaccines protect against serious illness or death, but do not completely prevent infection. However, no vaccine has been authorized yet by the CDC for children under 12.

The decision Monday night came as a group of bipartisan state senators, including the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to the chamber’s leader asking him to call lawmakers back for a special session specifically to reconsider the ban on mask mandates in schools included in this year’s budget.

In announcing its decision to require face masks, members of the Charleston County School Board cited the recent surge in COVID-19 cases amid the spread of the contagious delta variant.

After a two-hour executive session, during which the board received both legal advice and medical insight surrounding face masks in schools, school board chairman the Rev. Eric Mack explained how the district arrived at its decision.

“In our discussion we talked about the safety and concerns of our students and where we are with our staff, making sure that we are giving the highest protection as we are beginning to go through these pandemic days that’s ahead of us,” Mack said, wearing a face mask as he spoke into the microphone.

“We came out with this motion today to help get us through the next 60 days at least,” he said.

The Charleston County School District is the second-largest school system in the state, serving about 49,000 students in 88 schools that can be found spanning some 1,300 square miles along the coast. The first day of school for Charleston County students is on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, some cities in the Palmetto State are the ones wading into decisions about school mask mandates.

The city of Columbia earlier this month passed an ordinance requiring masks be worn at day cares and elementary and middle schools in the city limits.

Richland County followed suit on Monday night, requiring masks at elementary and middle schools in the county for 60 days.

This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 7:35 PM.

Caitlin Byrd

The State

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Caitlin Byrd covers the Charleston region as an enterprise reporter for The State. She grew up in eastern North Carolina and she graduated from UNC Asheville in 2011. Since moving to Charleston in 2016, Byrd has broken national news, told powerful stories and documented the nuances of both a presidential primary and a high-stakes congressional race. She most recently covered politics at The Post and Courier. To date, Byrd has won more than 17 awards for her journalism.