Knox County School Board votes down a universal mask mandate

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The Knox County School Board called a special session to vote on COVID-19 protocols.

Board members voted against a universal masking requirement, 5 votes to 4.

The board voted to create a school-by-school COVID dashboard.

Board members hope the dashboard will give parents more information to make the best decision for their children.

The board will meet with the law department at a later date to find out the best way to break down the data while protecting the privacy of the students infected.

The board also discussed contact tracing and how it was done.

“We currently have no way to track who is quarantining and who isn’t,” said Jason Myers, executive director of student support services. “If you ask me today how many we have in quarantine, I can’t tell you that, because I don’t know.”

The board will meet again next Wednesday to discuss more of these topics further.

Knox County School Board Special COVID Meeting
LIVE: The Knox County School Board meets in a special session to discuss new COVID-19 guidelines in schools
Posted by WVLT on Wednesday, September 1, 2021

BOE votes to support the creation of a school-by-school COVID dashboard that would use active case ranges as determined appropriate by KCS administration and the law department.
— Knox County Schools (@KnoxSchools) September 2, 2021

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