COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Attorney General Alan Wilson are asking for federal judges to block a previous ruling that allows school mask mandates in state schools.
Wilson and McMaster filed the paperwork with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Thursday.
On Tuesday, U.S District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis issued a temporary restraining order barring Proviso 1.108 from being enforced. The proviso, passed in June by state lawmakers along with the budget, prohibits any state funding to going to enforce mask mandates at schools.
The South Carolina Supreme Court has upheld the legality of the proviso, and says the "no state funding" wording would stop school staff from enforcing it as well.
However, Lewis decided that the proviso discriminates against students with disabilities in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Essentially, she said districts must have a way to keep children with disabilities--including compromised immune systems--safe so they can go to school in-person.
But in their response, McMaster and Wilson argue that what Lewis did was essentially create a federal mask mandate, which they said goes beyond a reasonable reading of statues. They also say the court didn't show deference to the South Carolina General Assembly's right to impose such a rule, and that Lewis' belief that contracting COVID-19 is "irreputable harm" is wrong reasoning.
Because they believe they would win on appeal, McMaster and Wilson want the Fourth Circuit to issue a stay on Lewis' order which would allow Proviso 1.108 to remain in effect until a final ruling could take place.
Their appeal comes as the South Carolina Supreme Court issued another ruling upholding the legality of the proviso.