Masks in schools are a 'local decision,' Tennessee schools chief says as most districts ditch mask mandates

As communities debate whether Tennessee students should wear masks to school this fall, Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn reiterated Monday that the decision will be left up to local districts. 

Schwinn said during a visit to Lowrance K-8 School in Shelby County that the department will work with the Department of Health on its school reopening guidance. But on masks, she said, "that is a local decision, and I certainly support local control and making the best decisions for their communities."

"That will continue to be the position of the department," she said. 

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Schwinn's comments came a day before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday reversed course, recommending universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students and visitors inside schools from kindergarten to 12th grade, regardless of vaccination status.

Previously, the CDC only recommended masks for unvaccinated people in school buildings. Even then, that was guidance most Tennessee districts have so far said they won't enforce. Only people 12 and older are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized for use in the United States.

The new CDC guidance closely aligns with guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which also released recommendations suggesting all people older than 2 wear masks in school buildings regardless of their vaccination status. The group also urges vaccinations and in-person learning this fall.

The updated guidance also align more closely with how some local health departments elsewhere in the nation have reimposed mask mandates because of rising coronavirus cases, said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor and infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

“This gives more of an opportunity for local health departments to not look as though they’re doing something different than what the CDC is suggesting,” he said. “There was always an option for locals to make that determination, but now it’s much more explicit.”

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Shelby County Schools, the state's largest district, is currently one of the only districts in the state that will require students to wear face coverings this school year. Most surrounding municipal school districts and others in the state have announced policies making masks optional.

"We're not going to politicize mask-wearing," SCS Superintendent Joris Ray said in a CNN interview Saturday, adding that he had a "great working relationship" with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who has opposed statewide mask mandates.

But debate over masks in schools has erupted in Nashville and other areas in Middle Tennessee as the delta variant spreads across the state.

More than 1,500 parents have signed a petition asking Metro Nashville Public Schools to reinstate a mask requirement, particularly for unvaccinated students and staff, and parents plan to protest outside of Williamson County Schools' central office Thursday.

Last week, both the state education and health departments hinted that forthcoming guidance for school reopenings would align with newly-released guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"[The] Tennessee Department of Health is actively working on updated guidance to align to newly released CDC guidance, and we will help share that information when it is available," education department spokesperson Brian Blackley said in an email last week. 

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Dr. Michelle Fiscus, the former top vaccination official for Tennessee's Department of Health, weighed in on masks on Twitter over the weekend — also encouraging mask mandates. Fiscus was recently fired from her position amid pressure from Republican state lawmakers to halt vaccination outreach to kids. 

"Only 19.3% of TN adolescents ages 12-15 years have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose," Fiscus said in the tweet accompanied by a photo of public health department data. "School is already back in session for some. The rest will go back within the next month. Without a mask mandate and encouragement to get #vaccinated they will be sitting ducks."

The state passing responsibility for mask policies to local districts isn't new, but was Lee's main tactic throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Lee balked at a statewide mandate but did give county mayors the authority to impose mask requirements. 

But in April, he lifted many COVID-19 restrictions and removed the authority for most counties to impose mask mandates locally.

At the time of the announcement, Lee's press secretary clarified that school districts would maintain the authority to have their own mask policies, Chalkbeat reported at the time. The education news outlet has since reported that while the governor supports vaccines, he does not support masks in schools.

“That is a district decision in this state, but I suspect most districts will not require masks, and I support that,” Lee said.

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But there is some debate whether school districts even have the authority to require masks. A Williamson County judge previously dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of parents over the district's mask mandate, but the judge also did not officially rule whether the school board had the authority to institute such a requirement.

At that time, Williamson County Chancery Court Judge Michael Binkley wrote the district's decision to maintain a mask mandate was inconsistent with the decisions by the county mayor and the governor to let mask mandates expire. 

USA Today Network contributed. 

Laura Testino covers education and children's issues for the Commercial Appeal. Reach her at laura.testino@commercialappeal.com or 901-512-3763. Find her on Twitter: @LDTestino.

Meghan Mangrum covers education for the USA TODAY Network — Tennessee. Contact her at mmangrum@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.