Schools can use creative scheduling to comply with the Tennessee governor’s order that allows families to opt out of mask mandates in schools and still protect the rights and health of immunocompromised students, attorney Jim Newsome argued during a court hearing Thursday.
Newsome, attorney for defendant Gov. Bill Lee, was among the parties presenting their cases in a Memphis courtroom before U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman of Tennessee’s Western District. Lipman will now decide whether a temporary injunction is appropriate to continue to block the governor’s order or whether the court should reinstate it.
The judge issued no ruling Thursday, but a temporary restraining order remains in effect until Sept. 17. A longer-term injunction, if granted, would remain in effect while the trial is pending or until overturned in an appeals court.
Three Shelby County parents of students with disabilities filed the lawsuit Aug. 27 seeking class action status.
The suit says allowing families to opt out of a county masks-in-schools mandate violates the Americans with Disabilities Act because it jeopardizes the health and education of their medically vulnerable children who are at higher risk for severe complications from COVID-19. Parents in Florida have filed a similar lawsuit, and the Biden Administration is investigating related issues in Tennessee and other states.