A federal judge in Lubbock has issued a temporary injunction preventing the Department of Health and Human Services from enforcing mask and vaccine mandates in Texas as part of the Head Start program. That program is designed to help kids up to the age of five in low-income families prepare for school.
The Department of Health and Human Services had ordered kids and adults participating in the program to wear masks to limit the spread of COVID-19. It had also set a requirement that adult staffers and volunteers in the program be vaccinated.
The Lubbock ISD sued over those requirements, claiming the Department did not have the authority to impose those rules without a directive from Congress.
A federal judge in Lubbock issued a temporary injunction blocking the rules from being enforced in Texas, but not in other parts of the country. The injunction could stand until further development in the case or until it goes to trial. The Texas Attorney General's Office joined the Lubbock ISD in the lawsuit.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Governor Greg Abbott both posted statements praising the judge's decision.
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