South Carolina officials want out of mask mandate ban suit

South Carolina officials who have been sued over a law banning school districts from issuing face mask mandates say that they should be removed from pending litigation

South Carolina officials who have been sued over a law banning school districts from issuing face mask mandates say that they should be removed from pending litigation.

That's the argument made in recent court filings from Gov. Henry McMaster, Attorney General Alan Wilson and others being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union, on behalf of disability rights groups and parents of South Carolina children with disabilities. The plaintiffs are challenging a budget measure passed this summer that prevents South Carolina districts from using any state funding to require masks in schools.

The lawsuit percolates as South Carolina deals with a renewed COVID-19 surge, driven in part by the delta variant and a vaccination rate of just under 50% of eligible residents. Intensive care units in both adult and children hospitals are full, and more than 750 deaths have been reported in the first half of September. The average new cases reported daily is still around 4,500 — a level only surpassed during the winter peak, before vaccines were widely available.

The resurgence has forced a number of schools and two entire districts back to online learning within a month of returning in person. Some districts and cities have disregarded the ban, moving forward with implementing their own requirements.