2023 Tennessee Code › Title 14 - COVID-19 [Terminates July 1, 2023; see T.C.A. 14-6-104] (§§ 14-1-101 — 14-6-105) › Chapter 2 - UNIFORM STANDARDS (§§ 14-2-101 — 14-2-105) › Section 14-2-104 - [Expired] Face coverings for schools

(a)
Notwithstanding title 49 or any other law to the contrary and except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), a school or a governing body of a school shall not require a person to wear a face covering while on school property unless:
(1)
The principal or president of the school submits a written request to the school's governing body for the adoption of a policy requiring all persons on school property to wear a face covering;
(2)
Severe conditions exist;
(3)
The school's governing body adopts such a policy on a school-by-school or campus-by-campus basis and only:
(A)
For the school for which a request is submitted by the principal or president pursuant to subdivision (a)(1);
(B)
If all other conditions or requirements of this subsection (a) exist at the time the policy is adopted; and
(C)
If the policy is in effect for no more than fourteen (14) days;
(4)
The school provides face coverings for persons twelve (12) years of age and older that meet the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health N95 classification of air filtration, meaning that the face covering filters at least ninety-five percent (95%) of airborne particles, including droplets containing COVID-19; and
(5)
The school provides age-appropriate face coverings for persons under twelve (12) years of age, but over five (5) years of age, that provide air filtration similar to the face coverings described in subdivision (a)(4).
(b)
A principal or president of a school may submit a written request to the school's governing body to renew the face covering requirement for the school for an additional fourteen-day period if the requirements of subsection (a) exist at the time the face covering requirement is renewed. If, at the end of a fourteen-day period, one (1) or more of the requirements or conditions of subsection (a) no longer exist, then a school shall not renew the school's face covering requirement or otherwise require a person to wear a face covering on school property.
(c)
Notwithstanding subsection (a), a school shall not require a person to wear a face covering if the person provides documentation from the person's healthcare provider that wearing a face covering is contraindicated for the person, or if the person objects to wearing a face covering because of the person's sincerely held religious belief.
(d)
Notwithstanding subsection (a):
(1)
A school shall, to the extent practicable, provide a reasonable accommodation pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (
42 U.S.C. § 12101
et seq.) to a person who provides a written request for a reasonable accommodation to the principal or president of the school. If the person requesting a reasonable accommodation under this subsection (d) is a minor, then the person's parent or legal guardian must provide the written request on the minor's behalf.
(2)
The principal or president of the school shall evaluate the request on behalf of the school and, to the extent practicable, provide a reasonable accommodation. The principal or president shall issue a decision approving or denying the request in writing. If the principal or president denies the request, then the grounds for denial must be provided in the principal's or president's written decision. If the principal or president approves the request, then the school shall place the person in an in-person educational setting in which other persons who may place or otherwise locate themselves within six feet (6') of the person receiving the reasonable accommodation for longer than fifteen (15) minutes are wearing a face covering provided by the school that:
(A)
For persons twelve (12) years of age or older, meets the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health N95 classification of air filtration, meaning that the face covering filters at least ninety-five percent (95%) of airborne particles, including droplets containing COVID-19; and
(B)
For persons under twelve (12) years of age, but over five (5) years of age, is age-appropriate and provides air filtration similar to the face coverings described in subdivision (d)(2)(A).
(e)
The governing body of a school shall not use state funds to mandate or require students to wear face coverings in violation of this section. If a school's governing body violates this subsection (e), then the commissioner of education may withhold future distributions of school funds from a local education agency in the amount of the state funds used in violation of this section, or the attorney general and reporter may initiate legal proceedings to recover all state funds used in violation of this subsection (e).
(f)
This section does not authorize a person to access a school's property or to receive the benefits of a school's services if the person is otherwise prohibited from accessing the school's property, or from receiving the benefits of the school's services.
Added by 2021EX3 Tenn. Acts, ch. 6, s 1, eff. 11/12/2021.