House Speaker sends message to Tennessee school districts: Do not close schools

Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton with messages of warning to school districts across the state during a Nashville news conference to keep schools open in light of dismal TCAP scores based on a year of studies during a pandemic.

The speaker said masks in classrooms should be the decision of parents and if school systems decide to close their doors during any semester, he’ll ask Governor Bill Lee to call a special session of the General Assembly.

Sexton also said he would endorse a bill that would allow parents to take their children out of a system and be given funding by the state so their kids can go to school elsewhere. The directive comes as COVID case numbers increase in the state due to the delta variant.

(IMAGE: Tennessee House)