Metro Nashville Public Schools announced on Thursday that the school district will require all students and staff to wear a mask during the upcoming school year.
After Director Dr. Adrienne Battle recommended the move, members of the Metro Nashville Public School Board voted 8 to 1 in favor of implementing the new requirement.
“As a result of the alarming rise in COVID-19 cases and spread of the delta variant, the recommendations from the CDC and AAP, along with the Mayor’s new mask mandate for Metro facilities, it would be my recommendation to the Board that we adopt a universal mask policy, indoors and on buses, for the start of the 2021-22 school year in order to keep our student, staff, and their families as safe as possible,” Battle said in a statement before the special-called meeting.
The move to require masks is a direct reversal of policies, announced just a couple of weeks before, that would have given students the option to wear a mask.
Fran Bush, the only school board member to vote against the reversal, spoke out against the move by her colleagues.
“We had a plan. We should’ve stuck to the plan. Once again, here we go again. Parents are not able to have a choice for their students. I think they’re kind of getting a little bit frustrated,” Bush said.
Bush also claimed that frustrated parents will speak out against the measure, now more than ever.
“I don’t think it’s going to be over. I think parents are going to stand up even more now, those who want options. So, I do believe that this is not over, and parents want their voices to be heard,” she continued.
Additionally, House Speaker Cameron Sexton has threatened special legislative action to prevent schools from implementing mask mandates.
— — —
Cooper Moran is a reporter for the Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Fight the New World Order takeover! Refuse! Resist!!!!!!
Has no one tested for CO2 and O2 concentrations under masks? There are OSHA standards for both especially for the workplace and no doubt for schools. I think that the O2 standard is 19.5 % and anything below is below the allowed legal limit. It’s also quite likely that CO2 levels under masks are above the legal limit. Mandated masking very likely is illegal in work and school settings.
Parents , it’s time to stand up for your children.