KNOX COUNTY, Tenn — On Friday, a new court filing claims teachers, students, and administrators across Knox County Schools are violating the district's mask mandate.
They listed specific examples including students wearing mesh or lace masks, sporting events with mask-less students in the stands, and instances when bus drivers and administrators chose not to wear the face coverings.
It concludes with the plaintiffs requesting a monitor and/or compliance plan and for Knox County to "show cause on the issue of contempt."
"The pictures were wide-ranging and included a mask-less board member, principals, teachers, and a hoard of unmasked students," an attorney wrote.
In response, the plaintiffs said an employee in the law director's office took photographs that were "purposefully staged to deceive the plaintiffs with a false and defensive impression of mask compliance."
Jennifer Nagel is an advocate for students with learning disabilities. She said she's frequently in school buildings and has noticed varying degrees of compliance.
RELATED: Appeals court denies Knox County BOE's motion to remove mask mandate during appeals process
"Some are following, some are not," she said. "When I was [at Hardin Valley], I didn't see anybody out of a mask. There's just some other schools that are not [compliant]."
Attorneys for Knox County Schools said the district isn't "deliberately violating or ignoring the court's mandate and that they're "glad to work in the spirit of cooperation."
Staff members are "expected to correct those instances [of improper mask wearing] when and as they encounter them."
They wrote it is ultimately up to Superintendent Bob Thomas to monitor and enforce the preliminary injunction in all of the schools.
The plaintiffs said that isn't working well enough. They wrote there is "no genuine monitoring or enforcement plan in place even though COVID infections continue to skyrocket in Knox County."
Like the original mask mandate, it is now up to U.S. Judge Ronnie Greer to decide whether a monitor or compliance plan is appropriate.