How Horry County Schools responded to judge’s ruling that districts can require masks
Following a ruling from a federal judge temporarily blocking the enforcement of a proviso used to ban mask requirements in South Carolina school districts, Horry County Schools (HCS) will seek legal guidance on the matter, according to district chairman Ken Richardson.
After Judge Mary Geiger Lewis ruled the budget provision relating to the enforcement of mask mandates was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal laws, state superintendent Molly Spearman passed down guidance saying school districts were effectively allowed to enact mask mandates if they saw fit.
“The immediate effect of the Court’s order is that both the state and local school districts are prohibited from enforcing Proviso 1.108 and school districts now have the discretionary authority to require masks,” Spearman wrote.
S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson has said he plans to appeal the judge’s decision, and S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster said he disagreed, adding “parents should have the final word.”
It appears the district won’t call a special meeting to respond to the ruling or decide on a mask requirement. Richardson said further comments or responses to the ruling would be made at the board’s next regularly scheduled meeting on October 11.
Masks have been a hot-button issue at HCS this year, like other districts across the country. Earlier this week, before the judge’s ruling on the proviso came down, board members went head-to-head with S.C. state senator Greg Hembree over the board’s ability to legally require masks or not.
So far, the district has been staunch in its position to forego a mask mandate, even as other large South Carolina districts instated them against the proviso and federal funding was available for districts who lost funds for implementing COVID-19 safety measures.
While some parents are vocal about their opposition to a mask requirement, arguing it should be the parents’ responsibility to make those choices for their children, other parents and staff members feared an “impending disaster” if masks continued to be optional.
HCS has faced a myriad of issues related to the pandemic this school year, including having more than a quarter of the student body in quarantine at one point around three weeks into the school year. The district’s numbers have declined significantly after quarantine times were altered to keep students in school more often.
To date, HCS has recorded more than 3,000 COVID-19 cases in students and staff since the beginning of the school year, according to district data.
This story was originally published September 29, 2021 at 1:30 PM with the headline "How Horry County Schools responded to judge’s ruling that districts can require masks."
