NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee officials are appealing a judge's order that blocked the state's new severe limits on when public schools can require masks during the COVID-19 pandemic and its ban against local officials making decisions about quarantines in schools.

The state filed its notice of appeal last week in U.S. District Court in Nashville. Judge Waverly Crenshaw blocked the education provisions of the sweeping new law last month while the court case proceeds, saying the law "offers no protection to students, let alone those that are disabled."

The state filed a motion asking Crenshaw to unblock the provisions during the appeal, arguing that the law provides sufficient accommodations under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

The lawsuit against the state was filed on behalf of eight students who have disabilities and who are deemed by federal health officials as being more vulnerable to serious illness or death if they get COVID-19.