Sandy Brick felt her freedom was on the line. The Head Start teacher taught through the pandemic and opposed a federal “jab-or-job” mandate from the president. Judge Terry A. Doughty, on the bench of a U.S. District Court in Louisiana, on Wednesday agreed.
He ruled the federal government cannot require Head Start program teachers, staff and volunteers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, nor can it require adults or students to wear masks. His order “permanently enjoins the vaccine and mask mandate in 24 states (including Tennessee),” a release from the Liberty Justice Center says, and impacts 280,000 teachers, staff and volunteers.
In his ruling, he wrote, “The public interest is served by maintaining the constitutional structure and maintaining the liberty of individuals who do not want to take the COVID-19 vaccine. This interest outweighs Agency Defendants’ interests.
