NASHVILLE – Today, state Representative John Ray Clemmons (District 55–Nashville) responded to Governor Bill Lee’s Executive Order No. 84 that allows any parent or guardian to opt their child out of any facial covering requirement in our schools.
Lee announced his Executive Order only hours after Dr. Lisa Piercey, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, announced that our state has already seen more COVID-related hospitalizations in the first half of August than in any other full month during the pandemic. Dr. Piercey also confirmed that, as of today, the Tennessee National Guard is now being used to supplement staffing in hospitals.
In response, Rep. Clemmons issued the following statement:
The governor’s executive order is contrary to our mutual goals. We all want our children to be safe and healthy and benefit from a high quality public education, and we agree that the most effective and equitable learning opportunity is in a classroom setting. Therefore, we should all be focused on how best to overcome any obstacles preventing us from accomplishing these mutual aims. One such way is to allow local officials to require a non-invasive and effective option readily available to every child – a facial covering. By allowing parents to opt out for any reason and eliminating the universal applicability of any such requirement, Gov. Lee is undermining the very purpose of a requirement and reducing the proven effectiveness of facial coverings. In so doing, he is purposefully jeopardizing our children’s health and their education, as well as our economy. For what?
I applaud all school officials who instituted universal facial coverings requirements in the face of threats of politicians, and I invite everyone to keep up the fight for our children and continue working to protect our fellow Tennesseans.
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