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School responses in Tennessee to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

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Responses by state


As students returned to school for the 2021-2022 school year, states set a variety of policies on education and the COVID-19 pandemic, including how schools should open to in-person instruction and whether students and staff would be required to wear masks. By the end of the 2020-2021 school year, about 66% of students nationwide were in states that left closure decisions to schools or districts, 33% were in states with state-ordered in-person instruction, and 1% were in states with state-ordered regional school closures.[1][2] All 50 states closed schools to in-person instruction at some point during the 2019-2020 school year in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

This article summarizes responses to the coronavirus in Tennessee schools in the academic years ending in 2020, 2021, and 2022. You will find:


Ballotpedia’s coverage of COVID-19 includes how federal, state, and local governments are responding, and how those responses are influencing election rules and operations, political campaigns, the economy, schools, and more.

This page is updated monthly, but our email is always open. We encourage you to share updates from local officials, policymakers, and campaigns in your community at editor@ballotpedia.org.


Timeline by school year

Below is a list of major events involving schools in Tennessee during the coronavirus pandemic between 2019 and 2022, including school closings and openings, mask requirements, and the release of statewide operating guidance. Know of something we missed? Click here to email us and let us know.

2021-2022 school year

  • Dec. 10, 2021: U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw blocked Tennessee's school mask requirement ban from being enforced.[3]
  • Oct. 30, 2021: The Tennessee General Assembly passed Senate Bill 9014, which limited when public schools can require students and staff to wear masks. If the bill were to become law, school boards could require masks for up to 14 days if the state were under a COVID-19 state of emergency, county COVID-19 cases had reached 1,000 for every 100,000 people, and the school’s principal asked for a mask mandate.[4]
  • Sept. 30, 2021: Gov. Bill Lee (R) extended an order allowing parents to opt their children out of school mask mandates. Throughout the month of September, three separate federal judges blocked Lee’s order in Knox, Shelby, and Williamson counties in response to lawsuits that alleged the order violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery (R) said he would appeal two of the three lawsuits.[5]
  • Sept. 9, 2021: At the beginning of the school year, Burbio, a school data aggregator, reported twenty-nine in-person schooling disruptions in Tennessee.[6][7]
  • Sept. 3, 2021: United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Judge Sheryl H. Lipman ruled in favor of two students who sued Gov. Bill Lee (R) after he issued an order allowing students to opt out of school mask mandates. Lipman ruled Lee’s order violated the students’ rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).[8]
  • Aug. 16, 2021: Gov. Bill Lee (R) issued an order allowing parents to send their children to school without masks in K-12 public schools that enacted mask requirements.[9]


2020-2021 school year

  • June 29, 2021: At the end of the school year, Burbio reported most schools were in-person in Tennessee.[10][11]
  • Sept. 10, 2020: At the beginning of the school year, Burbio reported a majority of schools were in-person in Tennessee .[12][13]
  • August 12, 2020: Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said that the Tennessee Department of Education was encouraging school districts to mandate face coverings for middle and high school students.[14]
  • July 28, 2020: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) released guidelines for reopening schools. The recommendations covered testing and contact tracing, immunizations, and resources necessary for returning students to classrooms or teaching remotely.[15]
  • June 8, 2020: The Tennessee Department of Education released guidance for reopening schools in August. The document did not require Tennessee school districts to adopt any particular approach but provided suggestions and best practices for safely reopening, including requiring students and staff to wear masks and setting staggered schedules.[16]


2019-2020 school year

  • April 15, 2020: Lee recommended that schools close for the remainder of the academic year. Schools in the state were previously ordered closed from March 20 through April 24.[17]
  • March 25, 2020: The Tennessee Department of Education announced that the statewide school closure, scheduled to end March 31, was extended through April 24.[18]
  • March 16, 2020: Lee urged schools across the state to close as early as possible. He said that all schools should close no later than March 20 and remain closed through March 31.[19]

Mask and vaccine requirements in the 2021-2022 school year

Mask requirements in schools

See also: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2021-2022 academic year

As of August 1, 2022, no states had school mask requirements in effect. Forty-two states left mask requirements in schools up to local authorities. Seven states banned school mask requirements.

The table below shows statewide school mask requirement laws and orders in states with school mask requirements or school mask requirement bans in place at the end of the 2021-2022 school year.

Mask requirement orders
State Ban or requirement? Type of order Date lifted or altered
Arizona Ban Legislative action N/A
Arkansas Ban Legislative action Sept. 30, 2021 - Suspended by court action
California Requirement California Department of Public Health order March 12, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Connecticut Requirement Executive order Feb. 28, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Delaware Requirement Executive order March 1, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Florida Ban Executive order N/A[20]
Georgia Ban Legislative action N/A
Hawaii Requirement Executive order Aug. 1, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Illinois Requirement Illinois Department of Public Health order Feb. 4, 2022 - Suspended by court action[21]
Iowa Ban Legislative action May 16, 2022 - Reinstated by court action[22]
Kentucky Requirement Kentucky Board of Education order Sept. 9, 2021 - Suspended by state law
Louisiana Requirement Executive order Feb. 16, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[23]
Maryland Requirement Maryland State Board of Education order March 1, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[24]
Massachusetts Requirement Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education order Feb. 28, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[25]
Nevada Requirement Executive order Feb. 10, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
New Jersey Requirement Executive order March 7, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
New Mexico Requirement New Mexico Public Education Department order Feb. 17, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
New York Requirement Executive order March 3, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Oklahoma Ban Executive order N/A
Oregon Requirement Oregon Health Authority and Department of Education order March 12, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Pennsylvania Requirement Pennsylvania Department of Health order Dec. 10, 2021 - Suspended by court action
Rhode Island Requirement Executive order March 4, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
South Carolina Ban Legislative action Sept. 28, 2021 - Temporarily suspended by court action
Tennessee Ban Executive order Dec. 10, 2021 - Suspended by court action
Texas Ban Executive order N/A[26]
Utah Ban Legislative action N/A
Virginia Ban Legislative action N/A
Washington Requirement Washington State Department of Public Health order March 12, 2022 - Lifted by executive action

School mask requirements over time

School mask bans over time


Teacher and school employee vaccine requirements

See also: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2021-2022 academic year

Seven states had issued a statewide requirement for K-12 teachers and staff to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or receive regular coronavirus testing during the 2021-2022 school year. The table below shows teacher and staff vaccine requirement laws and orders in states that issued such policies during the 2021-2022 school year.

Vaccine requirement orders
State Testing instead of vaccination allowed? Type of order Date effective
California Yes California Department of Public Health order Oct. 15, 2021
Connecticut No Executive order Sept. 27, 2021
Delaware Yes Executive order Nov. 1, 2021
Illinois Yes Executive order Issued: Sept. 19, 2021
Suspended by court action on Feb. 4, 2022
New Jersey Yes Executive order Oct. 18, 2021
New York Yes Executive order Sept. 19, 2021
Oregon No Executive order Oct. 18, 2021
Washington No Executive order Oct. 18, 2021


Student vaccine requirements

See also: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2021-2022 academic year

On Oct. 1, 2021, California was the first state to announce a vaccine requirement for eligible students. Louisiana also announced a vaccine requirement for eligible students on Dec. 14, but then announced the state would be removing the coronavirus vaccine from the list of required immunizations in schools on May 18, 2022.

School reopenings and closures (2020-2021 academic year)

See also: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2020-2021 academic year

Initial school year operating plan

See also: Documenting America's Path to Recovery: July 22, 2020

Tennessee released an initial operating plan for the 2020-2021 school year on June 8, 2020. An analysis of this plan appeared in our Documenting America's Path to Recovery newsletter on July 22. The sections below include an analysis of the plan, the details of the plan, and reactions from officials to the plan.

The Tennessee Department of Education released school reopening guidance on June 8. The guidance is presented as “a framing document and not an implementation document. It is intended to provide broad questions and considerations for local districts.” The guidance is split into an overview document and several toolkits focused on specific areas that require consideration in crafting a reopening plan.

On March 16, Gov. Bill Lee (R) ordered public schools to close by March 20 and remain closed until March 31. On March 24, the Department of Education extended the closure through April 24. Lee closed schools for the remainder of the academic year on April 15.

Tennessee does not have a statewide date for schools to reopen. According to EdWeek, public schools in Tennessee traditionally start the academic year from late July to early August, with the exact date varying by district.

Context

Tennessee is a Republican trifecta. The governor is a Republican, and Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.

The following tables show public education statistics in Tennessee, including a rank comparing it to the other 49 states. Rank one is the highest number of each figure, rank 50 is the lowest. All data comes from the Common Core of Data provided by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Tennessee school metrics
Category Figure Rank
Per pupil spending (16-17) $10,402 42
Number of students (18-19) 1,006,309 16
Number of teachers (Fall 2016) 64,270 15
Number of public schools (18-19) 1,862 20
Student:teacher ratio (18-19) 15.7 19
Percent qualifying for free/reduced lunch (16-17) 58.80% 10


Tennessee school revenue
Category Figure Rank
Total revenue $9,428,987 23
Federal revenue percent 12.0% 8
State revenue percent 45.2% 30
Local revenue percent 42.9% 24

Details

District reopening plans

Both local districts and individual schools are tasked with developing their own reopening plans. The guidance does not say whether the plans need to be approved by the state or posted publicly.

In-person, hybrid, and online learning

The guidance lays out four different scenarios that schools should prepare for, and recommended several options for how the school could function in each of those scenarios. The scenarios are:

“
  • Scenario One - All students physically in school buildings
    • Traditional return
    • Staggered return
    • Staggered schedules
  • Scenario Two - All students participating in virtual and distance education
    • Full-time distance education
    • Self-paced or semi-independent programs
  • Scenario Three - Some students in physical buildings and some students virtual
    • Split days
    • Alternating days
    • Physical attendance based on need
  • Scenario Four - Cyclical or intermittent physical and virtual education
    • Staff and family choice
    • Emergency or responsive situations only (i.e. - virus resurgence)

[27]

”

Mask requirements

The guidance refers to recommendations released by the Tennessee Department of Health on June 30 for managing COVID-19 in schools. The Department of Health recommended the following for face coverings:

“
  • All staff should wear a cloth face covering at all times while on campus unless medical conditions dictate they cannot.
  • All middle and high school students should wear a cloth face covering at all times while in the school building unless the student is unable to remove the covering without assistance.
  • All elementary school students should wear a cloth face covering at all times while in the school building unless the student is unable to remove the covering without assistance or is sleeping.
  • Preschool children under the age of two should not wear cloth face coverings.
  • Young children or elementary school students who continuously play with, suck on, or chew their face covering should be excused from wearing one.[27]
 ”

In-person health recommendations and requirements

The guidance offers the following recommendations when schools are operating with students physically in the building:

“
  • Limit the daily movement of students in non-classroom environments for meals or recess and implement one-way hallways.
  • Rotate teachers through classrooms and allow students to remain in cohorts together.
  • Use non-traditional classroom space to allow for 6-foot distancing.
  • Implement plans that allow for social distancing measures during extra-curricular activities (clubs, sports, band, etc.).

[27]

”

Transportation and busing requirements and restrictions

The guidance’s transportation toolkit published as part of the guidance does not include a recommendation or requirement on the use of face coverings on buses. Instead, it asks local districts to consider whether or not drivers and students should wear cloth face coverings and whether the district can provide these coverings. The toolkit recommends that districts follow CDC guidelines on social distancing between the driver and students. It recommends taping off every other row and allowing only one student per seat. To support contact tracing efforts, the toolkit recommends that districts use assigned seats.

Map of school closures

The map below shows the status of school reopenings and closures at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year.

As of July 8, 2021, the status of school closures and reopenings was as follows:

  • Two states (Delaware, Hawaii) and Washington, D.C. had state-ordered regional school closures, required closures for certain grade levels, or allowed hybrid instruction only.
    • 2019-20 enrollment: 410,896 students (0.81% of students nationwide)
  • Thirteen states had state-ordered in-person instruction.
    • 2019-20 enrollment: 15,697,460 students (30.96% of students nationwide)
  • One state (Arizona) had state-ordered in-person instruction for certain grades.
    • 2019-20 enrollment: 1,152,586 students (2.27% of students nationwide)
  • Thirty-four states left decisions to schools or districts.
    • 2019-20 enrollment: 33,449,499 students (65.96% of students nationwide)



School reopenings and closures (2019-2020 academic year)

See also: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2019-2020 academic year


The map below shows the status of school reopenings and closures at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year.

  • States closed to in-person instruction for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year: 48
  • Number of public school students in states closed to in-person instruction for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year: 50,261,464


The chart below shows the first date schools in a state were closed to in-person instruction during the 2019-2020 academic year, divided by the political party of the governor.

School responses by state

To read about school responses to the coronavirus pandemic in others states, click one of the following links below:

General resources

The chart below shows coronavirus statistics from countries across the world. The information is provided by Real Clear Politics.

Click the links below to explore official resources related to the coronavirus outbreak.


See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Number of operating public schools and districts, student membership, teachers, and pupil/teacher ratio, by state or jurisdiction: School year 2019–20," accessed September 10, 2021
  2. ↑ EducationWeek, "Map: Where Were Schools Required to Be Open for the 2020-21 School Year?," June 14, 2021
  3. ↑ The Tennesseean, "Federal judge blocks Tennessee's law preventing schools from issuing mask mandates," December 10, 2021
  4. ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "Schools Face Strict Hurdles for Mask Mandates Under New Bill," November 1, 2021
  5. ↑ FOX 17, "Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee extending school mask opt-out order, despite judge blockings," September 30, 2021
  6. ↑ To read more about Burbio's school disruption tracking, click here
  7. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed August 27, 2021
  8. ↑ The Hill, "Judge blocks Tenn. governor's order allowing students to opt out of mask mandates," September 3, 2021
  9. ↑ News Channel 5 Nashville, "Governor Lee signs order allowing parents to opt kids out of mask mandates; will not call special session," August 16, 2021
  10. ↑ Burbio rated Tennessee's in-person index at 96.9. To read more about Burbio's school opening tracker, click here. To read more about Burbio's methodology, click here.
  11. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed Oct. 8, 2021
  12. ↑ Burbio rated Tennessee's in-person index between 60-80. To read more about Burbio's school opening tracker, click here. To read more about Burbio's methodology, click here.
  13. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed Oct. 8, 2021
  14. ↑ The Tennesseean, "Tennessee Department of Education recommends middle, high school students wear masks," August 12, 2020
  15. ↑ Governor of Tennessee, "Gov. Lee Unveils Safe Reopening Plan for Tennessee Schools," July 28, 2020
  16. ↑ Chalkbeat, "Tennessee releases guidance for reopening school during coronavirus pandemic," June 8, 2020
  17. ↑ WATE, "Coronavirus in Tennessee: Gov. Lee recommends school districts to remain closed for the rest of the school year," April 15, 2020
  18. ↑ WDEF, "School Closing Updates," March 25, 2020
  19. ↑ WREG, "Governor Bill Lee announces statewide closure of schools," March 16, 2020
  20. ↑ On Sept. 2, 2021 the ban was temporarily suspended by court action. An appeals court upheld the ban on Sept. 10.
  21. ↑ Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) ended the statewide school mask requirement on Feb. 28, 2022.
  22. ↑ On Sept. 13, 2021 the ban was temporarily suspended by court action for all schools. On Jan. 25, 2022, the ban was partially reinstated.
  23. ↑ Oct. 26, 2021 - School districts could be exempt from the school mask requirement if they followed CDC quarantine guidance
  24. ↑ Dec. 7, 2021 - School districts could be exempt from the school mask requirement if they met one of the three following criteria: 1) the county vaccination rate was 80% or higher, 2) 80% of school staff and students were vaccinated, or 3) COVID-19 transmission in the county was considered moderate or low for 14 straight days.
  25. ↑ Oct. 1 - Schools could become exempt from the school mask requirement when at least 80% of students were vaccinated
  26. ↑ On Nov. 10, 2021 the ban was suspended by court action. An appeals court upheld the ban on Dec. 1.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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