15 South Carolina Students Sent Home for Not Wearing Masks at School

Yesterday, several students in South Carolina’s second-largest school district were sent home for not complying with a mask mandate aimed at limiting the spread of the Coronavirus. Fifteen students at the Thomas C. Cario Middle School in the Charleston County School District will be learning from home until at least October 15th when administrators will revisit their district’s mask policy. According to district spokesperson Andy Pruitt, students at other schools were also sent home in connection to the mask mandates.

The school’s board of trustees voted last week to require everyone to wear face coverings in all CCSD schools and properties as well as on transportation. At the time of their vote, the board said “it remains our collective opinion that wearing face masks in school is an essential health and safety measure. Just that simple act of each of us will help prevent severe illness or death from Covid and reduce the number of students who are forced to quarantine.” The policy went into effect on September 20th but wasn’t fully enforced until yesterday. According to their website, the district has about 49,000 students enrolled in 88 schools and specialized programs.