A federal judge has blocked Tennessee Governor Bill Lee from allowing parents to opt out of school mask requirements.

According to reports U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman issued a preliminary injunction blocking Tennessee Governor Bill Lee executive order to allow parents the ability to opt-out of a mask mandate in Shelby County.

The preliminary injunction was issued after parents of students with health conditions argued that the Republican governor’s executive order endangered their children and hurt their ability to attend in-person classes by allowing others to opt-out of a mask mandate.

Judge Lipman had previsouly issued a temporary restraining order on September 3rd that stopped schools from allowing parents to opt-out that was set to expire Friday, and the preliminary injunction continues blocking Lee’s order as the federal lawsuit proceeds.
This injunction applies to all seven public school districts in Shelby County that began classes August 9th under a universal mask requirement issued by the Shelby County Health Department.

In the parents’ lawsuit it claims that the Governor's order violates the Americans with Disabilities Act that prohibits the exclusion of students with disabilities from public educational programs and activities.

The Tennessee attorney general’s office has argued that the parents could have sought other relief individually instead of filing a federal lawsuit.