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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office on Wednesday slammed the Biden administration’s ongoing mask mandate for low-income toddlers, calling it an "unacceptable" harm to children that even contradicts current guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Head Start preschools and child care centers for low-income families, which are overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are still requiring children as young as 2 years old to wear masks, despite current CDC guidelines that recommend universal masking only in areas with high COVID-19 community levels. Head Start staff members are also required to be vaccinated, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
The mask and vaccine mandates only apply to the program in 25 states after red-leaning states like Florida and Texas sued in federal courts and injunctions were imposed to stop their implementation.
"Governor DeSantis looks out for children first and foremost," DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital. "He was the first to insist that children should be able to return to the classroom, and he has consistently stood against masks in school as harmful towards a child’s development and education."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to supporters at a campaign stop on the Keep Florida Free Tour at the Horsepower Ranch in Geneva, Florida, on Aug. 24, 2022. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
"Governor DeSantis will not allow federal bureaucrats to muzzle children in Florida," Griffin added. "It is unacceptable that the Biden Administration would continue to do this to children, and bizarre that they would do so against their own CDC’s guidance."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addresses the crowd at a Florida GOP primary night event in Hialeah, Florida. (Fox News)
An HHS spokesperson acknowledged in a statement to Fox News Digital that its mask rule is out of step with the CDC but that the agency stopped enforcing the mask rule earlier this year.
"The Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Head Start (OHS) notified programs on Monday, February 28, 2022 that it will not be evaluating compliance with the mask requirement during monitoring visits in light of updated CDC guidelines," the statement read. "The pause on monitoring for compliance with the mask requirement applies to all Head Start programs. On Monday, August 22, 2022, OHS sent a reminder to all Head Start grantees that it will continue with the same approach and not evaluate compliance with the mask requirement as we begin the new program year.
"OHS acknowledges the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) COVID-19 mitigation recommendations have evolved since the publication of the Interim Final Rule with Comment Period. OHS will take into consideration the over 2,700 public comments it received, the updated CDC recommendations, the recent approval of vaccinations for young children, and the health and safety of Head Start children and families in the ongoing development of program guidance and regulation."
Head Start preschools and child care centers for low-income families, which are overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, are still requiring children as young as 2 years old to wear masks. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
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The rule still being on the books, however, has reportedly led to confusion among Head Start facilitators.
"Head Start programs have been short-circuited," Tommy Sheridan, the association’s deputy director, told The Times. "This mandate on masking and vaccines has hurt a lot of programs. It is more of a crisis that is now feeling like a looming catastrophe."
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