KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knox County Board of Education will take part in an open mediation session Monday, April 18, to try to resolve a federal lawsuit filed by parents who sought a mask mandate to protect their children from the threat of COVID-19.
The meeting at 9:30 a.m. Monday will be at the Sarah Simpson Professional Development Technology Center, 801 Tipton Avenue.
There'll be limited seating. There will be no public forum. No cameras or recording devices will be allowed.
No "disruptions" over the contentious issue will be allowed, according to a notice from the school system.
Knox County Schools announced the planned meeting Friday, April, 8 after filing a motion earlier in the day seeking permission from Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie Greer.
Greer filed his formal approval Monday. The judge last month ordered the school board and the parents to try to resolve their differences in face-to-face talks rather than fight it out in court.
He called for mediation as COVID-19 numbers have plunged in schools and across East Tennessee.
The four sets of parents that filed the lawsuit in early September don't oppose the school board discussing the lawsuit in an open setting, documents show. Counsel for Gov. Bill Lee, another defendant in the case, hasn't taken a position, the board's lawyer said.
The school board argued Friday in its motion that it's legally obliged under the state open meetings statute to talk about the lawsuit in public. They're elected officials; generally, their business must be conducted in public.
"KCBOE has determined that it will call a special meeting for the mediation, and will permit the public to attend its deliberation sessions," the board wrote.
It may close the session at some point Monday if it needs to talk about legal advice.
"KCBOE may also use an executive session to hear in confidence any communication from the mediator," the board noted in a footnote. "However, KCBOE will not deliberate in any such session."
Daryl Fansler, a highly respected attorney, and former Knox County chancellor is serving as mediator.
The school board and the parents have agreed that any offers or counteroffers to resolve the lawsuit will be public. But all other discussions in the mediation room will remain "confidential," the motion states.
The parents say their children have health problems that made them more vulnerable to the threat of the virus. After the school board declined to impose a mask mandate at the start of the school year, the parents filed suit in federal court.
Greer said federal law supported their request, and he imposed a mandate.
With the ease last month of federal guidelines about the need for masks, the judge relaxed his order. The lawsuit, however, still must be resolved.
Representatives for Governor Bill Lee will also attend the mediation, and according to court records, they will have the authority to negotiate a settlement. They also said any settlement they negotiate in will need approval from state authorities.