Tennessee Republicans are eyeing Oct. 27 as the tentative start date for a special session aimed at loosening COVID-19 restrictions in the state, The Tennessean reports. According to a message obtained by the paper, the session would extend into the week of Nov. 1. Senate Republicans had been cool to the idea, but after Gov. Bill Lee called for a special session to approve incentives for Ford Motor Company, Senate Speaker Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, voiced support for the fall session. 

A recent spike in harassment, intimidation and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers and staff has led the Department of Justice to commit new resources for countering those actions, WJHL reports. Attorney General Merrick Garland has instructed each U.S. attorney to convene meetings with federal, state and local law enforcement within 30 days to address threats. Reaction in Tennessee has been mixed. State Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville, says he welcomes an investigation and would like to see the department quickly examine who is behind the rise in threats. By contrast, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, said the federal government should not use politics to go after innocent people. 

U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw yesterday extended a temporary order blocking Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order that allows parents to opt their children out of school mask mandates, the Tennessean reports. Crenshaw has not yet ruled on the underlying legal issues in the lawsuit but extended the temporary order through Oct. 27 after hearing hours of testimony. The suit against Lee’s opt out order was brought by two Williamson County families under the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability laws. The extension to Crenshaw’s original temporary order, which was issued last month, allows schools to enforce mask mandates while the case continues. Crenshaw will continue to hear testimony on Oct. 13.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, said today that Republican members may sit on their hands rather than vote for a $500 million incentive package for Ford’s massive investment in West Tennessee if there is not going to be another special session on COVID-19 mandates. Gov. Bill Lee has called a special session for the week of Oct. 18 to address issues related to the Ford deal, The Tennessee Journal reports. Sexton, who has been calling for a special COVID-related session, said lawmakers may also want to consider whether businesses should be liable for workers who get sick after being required to get vaccinated.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee today extended an executive order allowing parents to opt their children out of local school mask mandates through Nov. 5, the Tennessean reports. The move comes despite the fact that his administration faces a federal civil rights investigation and multiple legal challenges against the original order. Executive Order 84, issued on Aug. 16, is set to expire on Oct. 5. It has been temporarily blocked in three counties — Knox, Shelby and Williamson. Lee also announced today that he is calling for a special legislative session on Oct. 18 to deal with “next steps" for the recently-announced Ford vehicle and battery plant at the Memphis Regional Megasite.

A third federal judge has ruled that Gov. Bill Lee may not enforce an order requiring schools to offer parents an opt-out of mask mandates, the Tennessean reports. The decision from U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. means that Williamson County and Franklin Special schools will be able to enforce mask mandates. The decision mirrors those by judges in Shelby and Knox counties. Lee's order is set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 5. On Friday, the governor said he has not yet decided whether to renew it. This afternoon, Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III announced that he has appealed and will seek a stay of the court decisions in Shelby and Knox counties. Slatery said the court orders impede the governor’s executive authority to direct the state’s public health response during an emergency.

A Knoxville-based federal judge today dealt a second blow to Gov. Bill Lee’s order allowing parents to opt out of school mask requirements, the Associated Press reports. The ruling came in a suit brought by four families in Knox County, who were seeking to have the school system mandate mask wearing. U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer’s decision blocks Lee’s order from being implemented while the legal battle continues to move its way through court. Earlier this week, a federal judge in Shelby County also blocked the governor’s order from taking effect there. Families across the state have argued that mask opt-outs endanger the lives of children with health conditions.

A federal judge in Nashville yesterday delayed proceedings in a challenge to Gov. Bill Lee’s mask opt out order, instead waiting for the results of a Williamson County and Franklin Special School District school board meeting, the Tennessean reports. That school board meeting took place last night and both districts chose to extend existing mask mandates into January. Chief Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee was set to hear arguments yesterday for both a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Lee’s order, which allows parents to opt their children out of school mask mandates. Similar suits have been filed in Shelby and Knox counties. "I'm not inclined to issue orders without knowing the effect," Crenshaw said yesterday. He added that extending or ending local mask mandates may change the tenor of the lawsuit. Arguments in the case will be heard on Oct. 5, the same day Lee’s order can expire.

There is a renewed push for a special session to ban mask and vaccine mandates in Tennessee after President Joe Biden announced new vaccine requirements, WATE reports. Previous calls for a special session fell silent after Gov. Bill Lee issued an executive order allowing parents to opt their children out of school mask mandates. Some Republican lawmakers say it is time to respond to the new federal COVID guidelines and examine Gov. Lee’s emergency powers. 

U.S. District Court Judge Sheryl H. Lipman today renewed a preliminary injunction against Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order requiring school districts to offer an opt-out of any mask mandates, the Commercial Appeal reports. The previous restraining order from Lipman was set to expire today. Her new decision allows the Shelby County Health Department to continue issuing mask requirements for schools while the governor’s order is challenged in court. That suit was brought by three families whose children have disabilities and special health needs that make them more susceptible to contracting severe cases of COVID-19. A similar case is also pending in East Tennessee.