On May 11 South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster issued Executive Order 2021-23. This order contains language pertaining to the wearing of face masks in public schools. Specifically, the order states for “DHEC [Department of Health and Environmental Control], in consultation with the Superintendent of Education, to develop and distribute a standardized form for the parent, guardian, legal custodian, foster-care provider, or other representative authorized to provide consent for or on behalf of a student in any public school in the State of South Carolina to opt out a student from a Face Covering requirement imposed by any public school official or public school district pertaining to school operations and facilities.” SCDHEC released the form stipulated above on May 12.
Colleton County School District recommends following DHEC mask wearing and social distancing guidelines, and will still follow its board-approved, local face covering policy (Policy ADD). However, all CCSD parents/students of legal age who wish to opt-out of wearing a face mask should complete the form provided by DHEC on its website and send it to their school. A Spanish version of this form can be found here.
Please note that this order does not change existing face mask requirements for students riding on school buses. Students are still required to wear face masks on school buses.
CCSD will continue to use the following COVID-19 prevention practices for the rest of the 2020 – 2021 school year:
• All district employees had the opportunity to receive COVID-19 vaccinations through clinics hosted on district properties.
• Over six-thousand desk barriers, many of which were delivered to Colleton County schools on October 20, have been placed in all of our school facilities and will continue to be used.
• Schools and buses will be cleaned daily, and comprehensively disinfected once per week.
• Mask wearing is required for students, staff members and visitors. Students can opt-out of this mask wearing policy by using the DHEC form mentioned earlier in this statement.
• Air purifiers have been placed in all CCSD classrooms.
• Students will undergo temperature checks upon entering district properties.
• Social distancing will be enforced on district properties when possible.