Attorney General Steve Marshall files lawsuit to block Biden vaccine and mask mandates for Head Start employees and students

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MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Attorney General Steve Marshall filed a lawsuit Tuesday to block the Biden administration’s Head Start mandate for program employees to vaccinate against COVID, and for pre-school pupils to wear face masks, or risk all federal funding.

Two of Alabama’s state agencies—the Alabama Department of Human Resources and the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education—would be affected by the mandate, as would all of Alabama’s Head Start teachers, staff, volunteers and students. The mandate requires all personnel to be “fully vaccinated” and wear masks at all times, while also requiring students ages two years and older to wear masks.

The lawsuit brought on behalf of the State of Alabama argues that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services lacks the legal authority to impose the mandate. It further notes that the mandate conflicts with Alabama’s vaccine passport law in that it requires state government entities to enforce it.

“The Biden administration clearly has no plans to back down from its errant pursuit of nationwide vaccination,” said Attorney General Marshall. “Likewise, the State of Alabama has no plans to back down from its righteous pursuit of nationwide injunctions.”

The lawsuit was filed in the Western District of Louisiana. Attorney General Marshall joined with Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry to bring this action, along with his colleagues from Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Attorney General Marshall added, “The victims of these mandates will not be ‘the unvaccinated,’ as President Biden would like you to believe. Rather, the harm will be felt by the rural pre-school children who will be left with no place to go if their centers are shut down. A program that the federal government created is at risk of being destroyed by those who claim to care most about its participants.”

Attorney General Marshall’s complaint and motion for preliminary injunction can be read here.