Head Start Mask Mandate Will Be Removed: Biden Administration

A federal program called Head Start that serves hundreds of thousands of young children will soon stop requiring masks.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, which runs the program, announced on Sept. 16 that it is planning to publish a rule that will rescind its mask mandate.

“This will align Head Start program masking requirements more closely with the updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance,” the administration said in an announcement.

The change will happen “in the near future,” according to the administration. Officials have declined to give an exact date.

The National Head Start Association (NHSA), which has been calling on the government for months to roll back the mask requirement, said the announcement “finally gives us the clarity we have been seeking.”

“It will go a long way to allow programs to do what they do best in a safe, healthy, and community-driven manner,” the group said.

‘Disruptive’

Based on instructions from President Joe Biden, Head Start in 2021 imposed a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on all staff members and many contractors and volunteers. It also implemented a mask mandate for all staff and children, with exemptions for children under 2 years old.

The NHSA told Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Biden appointee, in July that the policy “has been and continues to be extremely disruptive to the Head Start community,” including leading to many employees leaving and parents removing children.

Local officials were best equipped to make decisions on mandates, the group said.

Some lawmakers had also spoken out against the mandates.

“Mandating masking of children is not in line with public health principles and risks significant emotional and physical harm,” Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, said in a letter to

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