Federal Appeals Court Rules That K-12 Mask Mandates Are Legal In Tennessee
Image Credit: Nenad Stojkovic / CC
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
The United States Court of Appeal for the Sixth Circuit has ruled that mask mandates in K-12 schools in Tennessee are legal, contrary to a state law passed in November 2021.
A 21-page omnibus Medical Freedoms bill signed by Governor Lee in November, among other things, banned government entities from mandating masks and set forth an intricate process by which schools had to follow to require masks on a school-by-school basis, and made it law that mask mask mandates could not be school district wide.
The same day Lee signed the new legislation into law, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of eight Tennessee students with disabilities claiming their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act would be violated if school mask mandates were prevented.
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Two days later, on a Sunday, U.S. District Court Judge of Nashville’s Middle District of Tennessee, Waverly Crenshaw, ruled that school districts could continue enforcing mask mandates, despite the new law banning them.
Judge Crenshaw wrote, “given the alleged conflict and the possible confusion this creates for schools in Tennessee, pending an expedited hearing, the parties shall maintain the STATUS QUO as it pertains to students with disabilities and their federally guaranteed rights as of Thursday, November 11, 2021.”
Lee had previously issued an executive order allowing parents to opt out of school mask mandates, but that order has been blocked by judges in Shelby, Williamson and Knox counties.
Judge Crenshaw’s block on Tennessee law made its way through federal court with his guidance and the appeals court has now agreed to the block and denied the State’s request for a stay.
The U.S. Sixth Circuit judges wrote, “Given the complex issues involved in this case and the imminent end to the school year, we decline to stay the preliminary injunction, leaving the merits panel to make a reasoned decision on the appeal after the opportunity to hear the argument…We think it best to preserve the status quo until the merits panel can reach a reasoned decision after the opportunity to hear the argument, rather than effectively pretermitting the appeal. Because the equities point both ways, we do not think the district court abused its discretion in granting preliminary injunctive relief.”
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has jurisdiction over federal appeals arising from the states of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. The Court sits in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Potter Stewart United States Courthouse.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
This a abuse of power and these so-called liberal judges should of be thrown out of office.
Regarding mask mandates for K through 12. So sorry some children have “disabilities.” If their children have pre existing conditions then THEIR children should be kept on a bubble. Not the children who are healthy with normal immune systems. Sickening and selfish.
The schools are paid an incredible amount of money to enforce mask and vaccine mandates. Just follow the $$. They do not care a thing about your kids.
They are not so called liberal, they are off the wall liberal idiots.
This is ridiculous. People in these counties need to NOT COMPLY to this anymore, STRENGTH IN NUMBERS!
I concur with another statement While it is sad for “some” with disabilities, why are the healthy masked or forced to do against their will? Aren’t we fighting a ‘my body, my choice’ right now? This actually does harm to the child and has been proven in studies. The broad swath of All must because of some who are ill-affected is not what the Constitution provides to its citizens. Judges should have to take multiple studies into consideration. It is also KNOWN that children are not affected by this respiratory flu like older Americans, not to mention, one of the alphabet agencies recently put out a statement advising Americans to treat Covid like the Flu. WE NEVER MASKED FOR THE FLU. And we should not now either.
This Communist Judge is absolutely an idiot and is one of the fools that has destroyed the country . It would seem that the Communists would have to prove that masks work , or the State could produce the proven evidence that masks don’t protect you from the China Virus . How would wearing a useless mask protect anyone from anything ? All it shows is a weak spineless person who cowers to tyrants by wearing one of those nasty face diapers.