Major Tennessee universities can enact vaccine mandates in order to keep federal funding

Becca Wright, Knoxville News Sentinel
·3 min read

Multiple Tennessee universities were granted exemptions to the state's new COVID-19 legislation, allowing them to enforce vaccine mandates so they can continue to collect millions in federal funding.

The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury granted the exemptions this week after Gov. Bill Lee signed the bills Friday, according to John Dunn, the director of communications at the comptroller.

The universities would have been in violation of federal law if they weren't granted exemptions. The new Tennessee laws prohibit state-funded institutions from requiring vaccines or masks, except in very specific circumstances.

The universities granted exemptions are:

  • East Tennessee State University

  • University of Memphis

  • University of Tennessee System schools

  • Vanderbilt University

More: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signs sweeping COVID-19 legislation into law

President Joe Biden signed an executive order in September requiring federal contractors to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4. The University of Tennessee System, for example, received $742 million in federal funding in the 2020 fiscal year, which made up more than 25% of the system's budget.

"As a major research university, we have a large number of contracts and grants," UT Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman said in her bi-weekly COVID-19 livestream last week. "We understand this executive order to apply to most of our campus."

Amounts vary by institution. ETSU receives $40 million for federal programs and services each year, according to ETSU Chief Communications Officer Joe Smith.

The COVID-19 legislative package passed by the state allows for institutions who are at risk of losing federal funding to apply for exemption.

The institutions can apply for exemptions from the parts of the law, meaning those with exemptions can mandate vaccines, can require employees to share their vaccination status and can issue mask guidelines.

According to the Tennessee laws, granted exemptions must be renewed every year.

Julie Brannum puts a bandage on a patient after administering a vaccine at a coronavirus vaccination clinic for the public and students held in Neyland Stadium in August. The COVID-19 legislative package passed by the state allows for institutions who are at risk of losing federal funding to apply for exemption.
Julie Brannum puts a bandage on a patient after administering a vaccine at a coronavirus vaccination clinic for the public and students held in Neyland Stadium in August. The COVID-19 legislative package passed by the state allows for institutions who are at risk of losing federal funding to apply for exemption.

View a list of the exempt entities here: comptroller.tn.gov/covidexemption.

Tiffany Carpenter, UT System vice president for communications and marketing, said in an email Tuesday morning to Knox News that the system is working with its attorneys to determine what the exemption means for the system moving forward.

The federal contract guidance states that "contractors must ensure that all covered contractor employees are fully vaccinated for COVID-19" unless granted a medical or religious exemption.

The federal guidance does not actually require mask use or physical distancing for employees. Fully vaccinated workers do not need to wear a mask in communities with low or moderate transmission of COVID-19. However, in areas of high or substantial community transmission, these vaccinated employees should wear masks indoors.

The new laws and exemptions have sometimes translated into rapidly changing rules on campuses. On Tuesday afternoon, Plowman sent emails to UT Knoxville's students and staff reinstating a mask mandate that the UT System lifted just the day before. The mask mandate will take effect Monday.

The University of Tennessee is monitoring the lawsuit filed by Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III challenging the vaccine mandate for federal contractors, so more shifts could be coming in the days ahead.

The federal contractor vaccine mandate is different from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations where federal contractors are not allowed to offer regular COVID-19 testing as an alternative to getting vaccinated.

Q&A: 20 questions, answers on the new COVID-19 vaccine rules for workers

In October, the UT System urged all employees to get vaccinated as soon as possible to meet the federal vaccine deadline, which has moved from Dec. 8 to Jan. 4. At UT Knoxville, 77% of faculty and 73% of staff have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to Plowman.

The university system is still working to determine if the vaccine mandate will apply for students. Currently, at least 64% of students at UT Knoxville are at least partially vaccinated, according to Plowman.

Becca Wright: Higher education reporter at Knox News
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee universities can enact vaccine mandate to keep federal funds