The rise of the Delta variant of the Covid virus is hitting schools just as they are heading back for a new year. Both the CDC and some local health officials are recommending that schools go back to requiring masks.

On Monday, House Speaker Cameron Sexton told school systems and boards that they won’t have the final say.

Speaker Sexton joined Governor Lee for a press conference to talk about schools and the virus.  Governor Lee emphasised the point that kids need to go back to classrooms because remote learning has been a failure.

During the press conference, Sexton stated “I sure hope that school systems do not require a mask mandate for those students.  And if they do, I’m going to ask the Governor for a special session. If they close the schools, I’m going to ask the Governor for a special session.”

State-level test results from the 2020-21 Spring TCAP assessments show that pandemic-related disruptions to education led to declines in student academic proficiency in the state, across all subjects and grade bands.

Both the Governor and Speaker Sexton have made it clear that they believe parents should have the final say over their children’s Covid decisions.