New Georgia COVID order lifts most restrictions, but doesn’t outright ban school mask mandates

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued a new executive order Friday that eliminates most of Georgia’s remaining COVID-19 but doesn’t outright ban schools from having mask requirements.

The order, which takes effect May 31 and lasts through June 15, leaves limited guidelines for long-term care facilities, schools and school districts.

The new order prevents local schools and school districts from relying on Georgia’s public health state of emergency to require masking among workers and students while on campus. Cody Hall told McClatchy News that previous executive orders granted schools and their districts this option.

Hall said it would not be illegal for the district to implement a mandate if they justified it using other reasoning.

“Anyone can do anything,” Hall said when asked if a school could impose a mask mandate. “The legal and practical method would no longer be available to them.

“If they wanted to use a different reason, they’ll have to answer to voters. Because a (public health state of emergency) is really the only mechanism used prior to now,” he added.

Local governments are still allowed to mandate mask use if the 14-day case rate is equal to or greater than 100 cases per 100,000 people under the order.

“As hospitalizations, cases, deaths, and percent positive tests all continue to decline — and with vaccinations on the rise — Georgians deserve to fully return to normal,” Kemp said in a statement. “With safe and effective vaccines widely available and the public well-aware of all COVID-19 mitigation measures, mandates from state and local governments are no longer needed.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to provide more detail about the executive order and how it applies to school districts with mask mandates.

This story was originally published May 28, 2021 at 4:41 PM.