Marion, SC, August 25, 2021– In these challenging times of the COVID-19 and the Delta variance resurgence, The Marion County School District (MCSD) continues its commitment to the health and safety of all students and staff.

The district is mandated by the state to follow state law as established by the General Assembly as well as guidelines posted by both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). New guidelines have recently been released by DHEC and the district has started the process of aligning our efforts with the new guidance.

In an effort to provide choice for our families, the Marion County School District was one of thirty-four districts that was granted approval for a virtual learning program.  By state mandate, all virtual programs are capped at five percent of the district’s total student population. 

Like the majority of districts around the state, the MCSD is waiting on the status of current litigation with the hope of getting relief from Proviso 1.108 which prohibits school districts from enforcing a facemask mandate.

The district continues to strongly encourage the wearing of masks for our staff, students, and families and is fortunate to have a high level of participation among our students and staff who choose to wear masks when in our school buildings. We also ask families to follow guidelines posted by the CDC and DHEC, monitor students for symptoms and if the students don’t feel well to please keep them home.  

In an effort to be transparent, every Monday, the district’s COVID Dashboard is updated on our website (marion10.k12.sc.us) to reflect virus activity within our system.   Updates of all our health and safety protocols are also posted to the website.  We appreciate the support of our community and families in our effort to keep students and staff safe.   We are also hopeful our General Assembly will consider changing Proviso 1.108.A