BESE directs supt. of education to ask gov. to lift mask mandate for students in summer programs BESE wants Gov. John Bel Edwards to lift the mask mandate for K-12 students in summer programs. (Source: Storyblocks) By WAFB Staff | May 12, 2021 at 6:10 PM CDT - Updated May 12 at 6:10 PM BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) has directed Louisiana Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley to meet with Gov. John Bel Edwards about the mask mandate for students. During a special meeting on Wednesday, May 12, the board stated it wants Brumley to request Edwards to lift the mask requirements for K-12 students in summer school programs.