South Carolina weighs challenge to Columbia city-ordered school mask mandate
(The Center Square) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson is reviewing a school mask mandate approved Thursday by the Columbia City Council.
“We’ve received inquiries about the city of Columbia’s mask mandate. We’re doing research and analysis of it and expect to announce something late next week,” Wilson’s office said.
With classes resuming in less than two weeks and COVID-19 cases increasing, Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin declared a state of emergency Wednesday and asked the city council to approve a mandatory mask order.
“We are again at a significant challenging point of the rise of a Delta variant that has not only imperiled public health with a much more contagious version of the COVID-19 virus, but we’ve watched it rage through our community, a tenfold increase in infections just in the past month,” Benjamin said, noting with South Carolina’s vaccination rate of 45%, it is the city’s “duty” to impose public health protections.
The city council approved Benjamin’s declaration Thursday, voting 5-1 to mandate all 43 elementary and middle schools and day cares in the city require students, faculty, staff and visitors to wear face masks.
Under the 61-day order, city fire marshals would enforce the mandate. Families face $100 fines for violations. Schools would be fined for teachers and staff who violate the mandate.
Columbia is the first local government in South Carolina to adopt a mask mandate covering schools.
Gov. Henry McMaster spokesperson Brian Symmes said the order violates an amendment attached to the state budget that bans K-12 public schools from imposing mask and vaccine requirements on students, faculty and staff.
“State law prohibits mask mandates in public schools, and the city’s ordinance would require teachers and administrators to violate state law,” he said.
The University of South Carolina rescinded its indoor mandatory mask order Tuesday after Wilson forwarded an opinion to USC interim President Harris Pastides, stating the order violates the budget amendment.
Benjamin said the city will defend its order, which, because it is being issued by a city government rather than a school, is not subject to the budget amendment.
“All the masks that we are mandating people to use, we will provide, as a city, to the schools,” said Benjamin, noting discussed the order with Wilson before announcing it. “It is not affected by the budget proviso at all.”
Disclaimer: This content is distributed by The Center Square
