(R-MI), and Congressional colleagues introduced the Preventing Mandates on Toddlers Act. This bicameral legislation would nullify an interim final rule (IFR) that was published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that requires universal masking for all individuals in a Head Start facility above the age of two, including all staff, volunteers, and contractors. The IFR also requires toddlers to wear masks while they are outside on the playground, and it mandates staff and volunteers to be vaccinated by January 31, 2022.Senator Marco Rubio
“The Biden Administration’s federal overreach is now so out of control that they are willing to kick low-income toddlers out of Head Start programs if they don’t wear a mask,” Rubio said. “I have long supported individuals choosing to take precautions against COVID, but I do not support the federal government forcing babies to remain masked at all times or remove an important, affordable childcare option for low-income families with children who do not comply. This has gone way too far.”
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Background:
The Head Start program is a federal government program that provides qualifying, low-income children with early education services. Program facilities are located throughout the nation and, up until this point, individual locations have been able to set and enforce their own COVID-19 protocols.
Source: Senator Marco Rubio
