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  • The Education Department says it's investigating five Republican-led states that have banned mask requirements in schools, saying the policies could amount to discrimination against students with disabilities or health conditions. The department's office for civil rights sent letters to education chiefs in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah. Those states have barred schools from requiring masks among students and staff, a move that the department says could prevent some students from safely attending school.
  • South Carolina's highest court will hear two challenges to the state's refusal to let school districts require masks for students and teachers this week. The state Supreme Court has set aside two hours to hear the cases Tuesday. South Carolina lawmakers passed an item in the state budget in June threatening school districts with losing state money if they required masks. The local governments involved in the cases are Columbia and Richland 2 schools. They will likely argue that requiring or banning masks has no place in the state budget, a bill whose purpose is to raise and spend money. South Carolina law requires legislation to have one clear subject.
  • South Carolina students will again be required to wear masks on school buses starting Monday as COVID-19 cases among children and students are rising rapidly. The state Education Department told schools in July they did not have to make students on buses wear masks. But the agency changed its mind in a letter Thursday, bringing it into line with federal health rules about masks on buses.
  • A growing number of school districts in South Carolina are defying a provision from state lawmakers banning mandatory face coverings for students. But not all. Many districts are afraid the General Assembly will withhold state budget money if they do so. Lawmakers passed the ban mostly along party lines in June, when the state was seeing 20 times fewer new COVID-19 cases. Many districts and some lawmakers with second thoughts hope a state Supreme Court challenge to the mask rule will make things clearer. But there is no indication when the justices might rule.
  • Hundreds of South Carolina students are already quarantined for COVID-19 at the start of the fall semester as the delta variant has led to a surge in cases. That's prompting some local governments to consider whether to require masks in schools in spite of a state budget proviso that bans districts from doing so without risking funding. Richland County Council is expected to vote Monday evening on an emergency ordinance to require the face coverings in schools and day cares. It could join the city of Columbia in doing so.
  • The Mobile Pantry program is part of a larger, school-district-wide effort to address community food insecurity — an issue that has affected Rock Hill and a substantial part of South Carolina, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • South Carolina health officials are still recommending students and teachers wear masks indoors to curb COVID-19's spread in the upcoming school year, though state lawmakers have already banned school districts from requiring the face coverings. The mask recommendation is part of new coronavirus guidance for schools released Thursday by South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. The health agency says the suggestions reflect current virus trends as cases have risen rapidly in the state. Officials are also encouraging schools to set up vaccination clinics and maintain at least three feet of distance between students. Nearly 19,000 COVID-19 cases have been identified among students and staff over the past school year.
  • South Carolina education officials say they can't follow updated federal guidelines recommending indoor mask use at schools nationwide, even for vaccinated students. Legislation that went into effect July 1 prohibits school districts in South Carolina from using appropriated funds "to require that its students and/or employees wear a face mask." The measure was backed by Gov. Henry McMaster.
  • This episode of the South Carolina Lede for February 13, 2021 features: an update from State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman on vaccination…
  • This episode of the South Carolina Lede for January 5, 2021, features an update on Gov. Henry McMaster's bout with COVID-19, a look at the federal relief…