Masks are now optional for anyone inside a school building, bus or car in York County. School leaders said the division will continue to follow masking guidance for people who have been exposed to COVID-19 or have tested positive for the virus.
"We will prefer to have the mask mandate in place, but since the law was passed and signed into law, we will follow the law, of course," Dr. Cardell Patillo, the Portsmouth School Board chair, tells News 3 reporter Leondra Head.
As masking in schools continues to be a hot debate, school board members in a number of local school districts have decided to make masking up optional for students and staff, except where federally required.
Clark Murphy was a special education teacher at Corporate Landing Elementary School. He says he has a chronic health condition that could put him at increased risk of serious complications from getting COVID-19.
Students will still be required to wear masks while on school buses, in accordance with federal orders. Students who are enrolled in regional programs will also be expected to adhere to the rules of those campuses.