S Carolina court upholds mask ban; trumped by federal ruling

South Carolina's Supreme Court has ruled lawmakers can try to prevent local school districts from requiring masks in classrooms

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Two days after a federal judge decided that South Carolina's ban on school mask requirements discriminates against medically fragile students, the state Supreme Court disagreed, in a ruling that won't change the week's events.

Federal law trumps state law, so the U.S. District Court ruling allowing school districts to require masks is the binding one. Within an hour, South Carolina education officials sent out a memo telling districts that Thursday’s state decision changed nothing.

The South Carolina Supreme Court said districts can require masks without violating the state rule if they can find a way to avoid spending state money enforcing the wearing of face coverings.

The court also upheld as legal a different provision in the state budget, which limits school districts to having 5% of their students learning virtually all year, reducing state funding by half for each student above that mark.