Members of the Kershaw County School District Community;

Many of you may be aware that a federal judge in Columbia issued an injunction Tuesday night temporarily blocking South Carolina's law preventing schools from requiring face masks as a way of limiting the spread of coronavirus, saying the rule discriminates against students with disabilities.  The temporary injunction and restraining order, specifically South Carolina’s budget Proviso 1.108, states that schools cannot use state funds allocated this fiscal year in the enactment or enforcement of mask requirements.

So what does this mean for the Kershaw County School District?  I have advocated from the start of this school year that if we felt it necessary we wanted to be able to use all the tools in our toolbox to ensure the continuance of face to face instruction.  This would include the use of facemasks if deemed necessary. 

However, to ensure we are consistent in our application of our protocols, we must establish metrics to serve as our benchmarks.  We will continue to let the data drive our decision making.  To establish this update to our protocols, we are assembling our health care team to look at the specific metrics we will use to make the best decisions possible for our entire community. 

In closing, I encourage you to continue to follow the protocols to safeguard your children and families as well as our school community.  One of the most important things you can do is keep your child home if they are ill.  This will assist in the spread of not just COVID-19 but multiple communicable illnesses.  Finally, you can access our COVID-19 dashboard at any time with data that is updated multiple times a day and includes each individual school location.  www.kcsdschools.net/covid19

Sincerely,
Dr. Shane Robbins, ATC