COLUMBIA, S.C. — Some Richland District Two parents Tuesday night expressed their opposition to the idea of requiring face coverings in school.
“God has given us our children to watch over them, not for us to give them over to the government for them to tell us what to do. And it’s just hard to watch our country seem to go down a slippery slope with our freedoms being eroded,” said one district parent.
“Having worked with children with speech and language differences, I know firsthand how important it is to have those facial cues, to have speech cues, to be able to understand,” said another parent.
The district will encourage students to wear masks, but not require it in accordance with the state proviso. The district plans on making an appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court on August 31 to have the proviso lifted.
“We are hopeful that the state supreme court will grant our request for declaration and injunction relief from proviso 1.108 enabling our district to fulfill our most important obligation to our families, providing a safe and healthy learning environment for all our students,” said superintendent Baron Davis.
The district is now asking the community to do their part in getting vaccinated.
“While our school and district employees are doing all we can to enforce important health and safety protocols, we need the community’s help. If you are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine or have not taken this important step, now is the time to roll up your sleeve and get the shot,” said Davis.
Students with health conditions or religious exemptions will not be required to wear masks. The superintendent will review each exemption on a case-by-case basis.