Politics & Policy Healthy schools School safety

Should Tennessee limit school mask mandates? Tell us what you think.

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| November 3, 2021, 8:33pm UTC

Two women hold signs that say “No mask mandates” and “Unmask the kids and teachers” at a meeting. They have unhappy looks on their faces. — On Saturday, state lawmakers rolled back several COVID restrictions, including limiting the mask mandate authority of public school districts. (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

While most Tennesseans were asleep early Saturday morning, state lawmakers passed legislation barring public schools from mandating masks except temporarily in extreme circumstances. Private schools and businesses would have more leniency on issuing such mandates. The legislation, largely approved among partisan lines, was among several rollbacks to COVID restrictions.

Gov. Bill Lee has yet to sign the bills into law and declined Monday to share his stance on the package of legislation. If enacted, the policies stand to dial back mitigation efforts in public schools as the pandemic grinds on.

Chalkbeat wants to know what Tennessee students, parents, teachers, and educators think about the plan to curb mask mandates. Share your insight in the form below, or go here if you are on a mobile device.

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