Education

Richland 1 schools will no longer require COVID-19 masks on buses and in classrooms

First-grader Charles McQueen wears a mask as he sits behind a plexiglass divider on the first day of school on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021, at A.C. Moore Elementary School. Richland One announced Friday, March 11, that masks would become optional on buses and in schools.
First-grader Charles McQueen wears a mask as he sits behind a plexiglass divider on the first day of school on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021, at A.C. Moore Elementary School. Richland One announced Friday, March 11, that masks would become optional on buses and in schools. Tracy Glantz tglantz@thestate.com

Richland 1 schools will no longer require COVID-19 masks inside classrooms and on buses starting Monday, the district announced Friday.

The district will still require masks in certain health care areas; for 6-10 days after a student tests positive for COVID-19 and if there is a COVID-19 outbreak at a school, according to the release. Classrooms will also attempt to physically distance students three feet apart and may continue to use plexiglass desk shields.

The district’s announcement says it “will not tolerate harassment of anyone who chooses to wear a mask or not wear a mask,” the release said.

Richland 1 includes downtown Columbia, Lower Richland and the St. Andrews area.

This story was originally published March 11, 2022 at 1:32 PM.

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Lucas Daprile
The State
803-771-8483
Lucas Daprile has been covering the University of South Carolina and higher education since March 2018. Before working for The State, he graduated from Ohio University and worked as an investigative reporter at TCPalm in Stuart, FL. Lucas received several awards from the S.C. Press Association, including for education beat reporting, series of articles and enterprise reporting. Support my work with a digital subscription
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