CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Wearing face masks in schools has been a hot topic for some time. Recently, the debate picked up steam following dozens of parents speaking up during local school district meetings.
Many are wondering why schools aren't taking action in response to their requests for students to be able to choose if they want to wear a mask or not.
There is a good reason the mask mandate for schools remains in place statewide.
THE QUESTION
Do local school districts have to follow North Carolina state guidance about masks?
THE ANSWER
Yes, our sources to verify this are two North Carolina laws along with the state's department of health and human services.
North Carolina law, 2020-49, requires all schools in the state to be in compliance with "all required Covid-19 guidance issued by the state board of education, department of public instruction, and department of health and human services."
That means schools have to follow the toolkit North Carolina leaders have created for schools, which does require masks.
If you'd like to review the tool kit in its entirety, click here. It was last updated for schools on March 24, 2021.
The other issue is due to a second North Carolina law, 2020-89, about immunity and liability for school districts if someone does get sick.
"That means potentially if we allowed students to make a personal choice to refuse to wear a mask, and let's say that child gets sick or someone in their family gets sick, then they are able to bring legal action against us as a school system, and we would be unable to claim immunity," Sides said.
This could lead to districts being held liable or found negligent if they aren't following state guidelines and someone gets sick.
So we can verify, local school districts do have to follow North Carolina state guidance about masks. If they don't, there could be serious consequences.
That's why local school boards don't have any wiggle room to change these rules. When the state updates its guidelines for schools, that is when local districts will be able to make changes.