Eighty-one percent of Mississippi’s K-12 school districts require masks or face coverings to be worn on campus. However, that still leaves 159,737 students under no mask requirement, including four of the biggest school districts in the state — Madison County School District with 12,988 students, Harrison County School District with 13,666 students, Rankin County School District with 18,384 students and DeSoto County School District with 34,067 students, according to data from the Mississippi Department of Education’s website.

Last updated: November 9, 2021

View a visualization of Mississippi’s K-12 student population divided by how many are or are not subject to a mask requirement in their district:

In addition to Desoto, Rankin, Harrison and Madison County school districts, the other 24 mask-optional districts include:

• Baldwyn School District (753)
• Clinton Public School District (5,250)
• Enterprise School District (924)
• George County School District (3,843)
• Itawamba County School District (3,378)
• Jackson County School District (8,765)
• Lauderdale County School District (5,680)
• Lee County School District (6,389)
• Lincoln County School District (2,733)
• Monroe County School District (2,095)
• Nettleton School District (1,170)
• North Tippah School District (1,259)
• Ocean Springs School District (5,739)
• Pontotoc County School District (3,524)
• Prentiss County School District (2,272)
• Scott County School District (3,785)
• Senatobia Municipal School District (1,676)
• South Tippah School District (2,535)
• Stone County School District (2,334)
• Tate County School District (2,097)
• Tishomingo County School District (2,850)
• Tupelo Public School District (7,005)
• Union County School District (2,899)
• Walthall County School District (1,677)

READ MORE: Inside one of Mississippi's mask-optional school districts

VIEW OUR COVID-19 DATA & RESOURCES

Data: Which Mississippi school districts are requiring masks?

by Nigel Dent August 6, 2021November 9, 2021

Which Mississippi colleges and universities are requiring masks?

by Nigel Dent August 14, 2021August 15, 2021

• Our latest COVID-19 in Mississippi and Education coverage, including COVID-19 guidelines for colleges

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Data: How many Mississippi students are not required to wear masks in school?

by Nigel Dent, Mississippi Today
August 27, 2021

<h1>Data: How many Mississippi students are not required to wear masks in school?</h1> <p class="byline">by Nigel Dent, Mississippi Today <br />August 27, 2021</p> <br /> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/06181602/data-dive-FINAL-logo-04-1-1-1200x302.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1013508" /></figure> <p><strong>Eighty-one percent</strong> of Mississippi's K-12 school districts require masks or face coverings to be worn on campus. However, that still leaves <strong><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>159,737</strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></strong> students under no mask requirement, including four of the biggest school districts in the state — Madison County School District with <strong>12,988</strong> students, Harrison County School District with <strong>13,666</strong> students, Rankin County School District with <strong>18,384</strong> students and DeSoto County School District with <strong>34,067</strong> students, according to data from the Mississippi Department of Education's website.</p> <h3 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-last-updated-november-9-2021"><span style="color:#ff6c37" class="has-inline-color">Last updated: November 9, 2021</span></h3> <p>View a visualization of Mississippi's K-12 student population divided by how many are or are not subject to a mask requirement in their district: </p> <div class="wp-block-columns"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-borders"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <h3 class="has-text-align-center has-text-color" id="h-students-under-a-mask-requirement" style="color:#ffb71b">Students under a mask requirement</h3> <h2 class="has-text-align-center has-text-color" id="h-283-409" style="color:#ffb71b"><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>283,409</strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></h2> </p></div> <div class="wp-block-column"> <h3 class="has-text-align-center has-text-color" id="h-students-not-under-a-mask-requirement" style="color:#b92454">Students NOT under a mask requirement</h3> <h2 class="has-text-align-center has-text-color" id="h-159-737" style="color:#b92454"><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>159,737</strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></h2> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> <p>!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r&lt;t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data[&quot;datawrapper-height&quot;][a]+&quot;px&quot;}}}))}();</p> <p>In addition to Desoto, Rankin, Harrison and Madison County school districts, the other 24 mask-optional districts include:</p> <p>• Baldwyn School District (753)<br />• Clinton Public School District (5,250)<br />• Enterprise School District (924)<br />• George County School District (3,843)<br />• Itawamba County School District (3,378)<br />• Jackson County School District (8,765)<br />• Lauderdale County School District (5,680)<br />• Lee County School District (6,389)<br />• Lincoln County School District (2,733)<br />• Monroe County School District (2,095)<br />• Nettleton School District (1,170)<br />• North Tippah School District (1,259)<br />• Ocean Springs School District (5,739)<br />• Pontotoc County School District (3,524)<br />• Prentiss County School District (2,272)<br />• Scott County School District (3,785)<br />• Senatobia Municipal School District (1,676)<br />• South Tippah School District (2,535)<br />• Stone County School District (2,334)<br />• Tate County School District (2,097)<br />• Tishomingo County School District (2,850)<br />• Tupelo Public School District (7,005)<br />• Union County School District (2,899)<br />• Walthall County School District (1,677)</p> <p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> <a href="https://mississippitoday.org/2021/08/27/inside-mississippi-mask-optional-school-district/">Inside one of Mississippi's mask-optional school districts</a></p> <p>• Our latest&nbsp;<a href="https://mississippitoday.org/coronavirus-in-mississippi/">COVID-19 in Mississippi</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://mississippitoday.org/education/">Education</a>&nbsp;coverage, including&nbsp;<a href="https://mississippitoday.org/2021/08/05/msdh-recommends-covid-19-vaccines-for-ms-colleges/">COVID-19 guidelines for colleges</a></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mississippitoday.org/2021/08/27/data-how-many-mississippi-students-are-not-required-to-wear-masks-in-school/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mississippitoday.org&quot;&gt;Mississippi Today&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.&lt;img src=&quot;https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/06074517/MT_icon-logo-favicon-1-200x200.png&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;&lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://mississippitoday.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1013507&amp;amp;ga4=G-VSX4B701MS&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://mississippitoday.org/2021/08/27/data-how-many-mississippi-students-are-not-required-to-wear-masks-in-school/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); 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