Case Update: Victory in the fight against government overreach! On August 29, 2023, the Fifth Circuit vacated the district court’s permanent injunction as moot after the federal government rescinded the Head Start COVID-19 staff vaccination rule.
Case Background: Teachers in Head Start programs serve approximately 850,000 children living at or below the poverty line.
Head Start teachers like Sandy Brick of Louisiana and Jessica Trenn of Ohio have taught kids through ever-changing political climates. They have continued to serve their communities and students despite uncertainty. But in 2021, they and 280,000 Americans employed by Head Start agencies found themselves the subject of new federal vaccine and mask mandates.
On September 9, 2021, President Biden unveiled a comprehensive plan to vaccinate as many Americans as possible against COVID-19. Included as part of that plan were five federal vaccine mandates. President Biden proclaimed that he was fed up with the decisions of some Americans to not get vaccinated and he looked to agency emergency rule-making and executive orders to force as many people as possible to vaccinate.
Head Start agencies (local, largely nonprofit, or governmental providers who receive federal funding to provide Head Start services) received their mandate on Nov. 30, 2021, when the Office of Head Start under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published an “interim final rule” which required all staff, contractors and volunteers to receive a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Jan. 31, 2022. It also placed a universal mask mandate on all adults and children.
Sandy and Jessica worked in programs that did not have vaccine and mask mandates prior to the federal government’s new directive, but after it went into affect they faced losing their jobs for declining to get the COVID-19 vaccine. However, with the help from attorneys at the Liberty Justice Center and the Louisiana-based Pelican Institute for Public Policy, they filed a federal lawsuit against President Joe Biden and federal officials to challenge the government’s gross intrusion and overreach. They believed the mandate was illegal because it did not follow the lawful ruling process, it exceeded the authority given to HHS by Congress and it violated the U.S. Constitution.
The case was filed December 22, 2021 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Lake Charles Division.
No results found.
(Fox News)—A federal judge in Louisiana on Wednesday struck down a federal school mask and vaccine mandate. U.S. District Court Judge Terry A. Doughty in Lafeyette, Louisiana ruled that the federal government cannot push a COVID-19 vaccine or mask mandate for Head Start program teachers, staff, and volunteers as well...
(The Center Square)—With a permanent injunction issued in a case against President Biden’s mask and vaccine mandate for Head Start child care centers, the only question is whether federal officials will appeal the ruling. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty struck down the mandate on Wednesday, finding the edict poses a...
(Newsmax)—A federal district court in Louisiana ruled Thursday that the government cannot require teachers and staff within the Head Start early education program to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Judge Terry A. Doughty also ruled that adults and students cannot be required to wear masks — a win for the Liberty...
(Townhall)—The Biden administration’s vaccine and mask mandate suffered another legal blow on Wednesday, when a federal judge in Louisiana ruled the government cannot force Head Start teachers, staff, and volunteers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or require that students and adults wear a face covering. Teachers Sandy Brick of Louisiana...
(Just the News)—The ruling permanently blocks the administration from enforcing the mandate. A federal judge handed down the latest rebuke of the Biden administration by striking down the federal COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates for teachers and students in the Head Start program. Judge Terry A. Doughty, on the bench...
(Fox News)—Head Start required all employees to be vaccinated and all adults and children over the age of two to be masked. A federal judge in Louisiana on Wednesday struck down a federal school mask and vaccine mandate. U.S. District Court Judge Terry A. Doughty in Lafeyette, Louisiana ruled that...
(Breitbart News)—A federal judge ruled Wednesday that federal school mask and vaccine mandates cannot be enforced because “liberty interests of individuals … outweigh any interest generated by the mandatory administration of vaccines.” The federal mandate affected 280,000 teachers, staff, and volunteers with the Head Start program who were met with...