School District reaction to federal court ruling

 

Here this afternoon’s statement:  “Federal District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday on the state’s one-year budget provision aimed at preventing school districts from mandating masks for students and staff.  In the order, Judge Lewis ruled that SC Budget Proviso 1.108 discriminates against students with disabilities and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and additional federal laws.  This decision allows districts to once again implement mask mandates as a preventative measure to prevent spread of COVID-19.

District leadership met this morning to discuss the ruling and possible changes to district mask policy.   After considering state, county, and district COVID-19 data, the district does not plan to implement a mask mandate in Oconee County schools. Data from DHEC shows cases plummeting in SC and Oconee County.  A similar decline has occurred in cases among students and staff in our schools.  In August, the district averaged 34 cases per school day.  That number has dropped to 18 cases per school day for the month of  September and only 13 cases per school day over the last 2 weeks.

 

Dr. Michael Thorsland, superintendent, said, “At the special called board meeting on August 31st, I said I would favor a mask mandate for our schools if it was lawful to do so.   At that time, cases were the highest we had ever seen with no indication of slowing down. We felt like masks would have allowed us to keep more students in school by reducing the number of students who had to quarantine.  Since that time, our positive cases and number of quarantined students have significantly decreased.  Because of the decline, we don’t think mandating masks now is necessary.”

 

Please note:  We encourage any parent/guardian of a student with disabilities, who is not attending in-person or receiving in-person services due to lack of masking, to reach out to a school or district administrator to discuss accommodations to ensure equal access to and the ability to benefit from education in the least restrictive environment.