TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Sep 21, 2021

A federal judge in Nashville yesterday delayed proceedings in a challenge to Gov. Bill Lee’s mask opt out order, instead waiting for the results of a Williamson County and Franklin Special School District school board meeting, the Tennessean reports. That school board meeting took place last night and both districts chose to extend existing mask mandates into January. Chief Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee was set to hear arguments yesterday for both a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Lee’s order, which allows parents to opt their children out of school mask mandates. Similar suits have been filed in Shelby and Knox counties. "I'm not inclined to issue orders without knowing the effect," Crenshaw said yesterday. He added that extending or ending local mask mandates may change the tenor of the lawsuit. Arguments in the case will be heard on Oct. 5, the same day Lee’s order can expire.