IRMO, S.C. — Lexington-Richland School District Five students must wear masks at school again, at least for now.
The Lexington-Richland School District Five Board of Trustees said late Thursday they'd been advised by their attorney that there needed to be a review of their decision made this week to end the mask rules.
The end of the mandatory face mask policy was to been on Friday, May 7, with the first day of optional masks on Monday, May 10. However, now the district says that's on hold until they get a further briefing from the attorney at the board's next meeting, which is also set for Monday.
For now, the district has been advised to following the South Carolina Department of Education's face covering guidelines that have been in effect since August of last year.
“Students and staff in South Carolina public schools must wear a face covering upon entering a school building, moving through hallways, during carpool/bus drop off or pickup, and when social distancing is not possible or optimal," those guidelines state.
The district had voted 4-2 on Tuesday night to end the mask mandate. They did say students could wear masks if they want to, and mask would have been required on buses.
Before taking the vote, the board heard from over a number of parents who argued both for and against keeping the mask rules.
The change comes about a week after South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster came out strongly for school districts statewide to drop the rule, calling it "ridiculous" that those rules were still in place. He said it was the parents choice.
Both the South Carolina Department of Education and the state's health agency, DHEC, say the mask rule should be kept in place through the end of the school year.