Parents in Tennessee will now be able to decide if their child wears a mask to school, regardless of their districts’ guidelines, after Gov. Bill Lee signed an executive order Monday.
“A student’s parent or guardian shall have the right to opt out of any order or requirement for a student in Kindergarten through 12th grade to wear a face covering at school, on a school bus, or at a school function,” the order reads.
Parents who want to opt their child out of the mandate must notify the local school district or school personnel, according to the order.
“No one cares more about the health and well-being of a child than a parent,” Lee tweeted. “Districts will make the decisions they believe are best for their students, but parents are the authority and ultimate decision-makers for their individual child’s health and well-being.”
Lee also announced that he will not be calling a special legislative session to address school mask mandates across the state, as requested by Republican members of the Tennessee General Assembly last week.
In a statement, Lee acknowledged that hospitals are “struggling under the weight of COVID,” but that those hospitals are filled with adults.
“Requiring parents to make their children wear masks to solve an adult problem is in my view wrong,” Lee said.
According to the Tennessee Department of Health, there were 43 pediatric patients hospitalized due to Covid-19 as of Sunday. Of those patients, 16 were in the ICU and eight were on ventilators.
Memphis-area legislators were quick to speak out against the executive order. Rep. Antonio Parkinson called the order “irresponsible.”
“The goal is to stop the spread of the virus in Tennessee,” Parkinson said. “The executive order in no way will curb the spread of the virus. As a matter of fact, it may accelerate the spread of Covid-19 in our state.”
Senator Raumesh Akbari said of the executive order that she “could not disagree with this more.”
“Hospitals across Tennessee are at or near capacity,” Akbari tweeted. “Some hospitals’ pediatric cases doubled in the course of a week. Masks are such a little thing that can protect our kids and teachers. Kids can’t get vaccinated and should be protected at all costs.”
Rep. London Lamar tweeted that she is “so scared” the decision will lead to more pediatric Covid-19 cases.
