Tag: Mandates

  • School nurses: Keep K-12 vaccine mandates

    School nurses: Keep K-12 vaccine mandates

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    Dive Brief:

    • The National Association of School Nurses is urging the continuation of vaccine mandates in K-12 schools to help protect children from preventable illnesses. The organization credits school vaccine requirements for significantly reducing the risk of disease outbreaks in schools and the broader communities. 
    • NASN and the Florida Association of School Nurses issued a joint statement last week condemning a recent announcement by Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo that the state would seek to eliminate vaccine requirements, including those for school-aged children.
    • The statement comes as national debate increases over vaccine safety. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel on Thursday recommended changing the inoculation guidelines for the first shot of the combined measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox vaccine for children ages 4 and younger to further prevent rare cases of fever-related seizures.

    Dive Insight:

    “Vaccination is one of the greatest public health achievements in American history,” the statement from NASN and FASN said. “It has eradicated or dramatically reduced the spread of numerous deadly and debilitating diseases. Thanks to vaccines, countless children — and vulnerable populations such as immunocompromised individuals and older adults — have been protected from preventable illnesses.”

    The NASN and FASN statement points to the rise in measles cases across several states earlier this year as a warning of what can happen when vaccination rates decline.

    In Florida, the elimination of vaccine mandates would occur through policy changes and legislation, Ladapo said. Earlier this month, Ladapo said Florida would be the first state to not require vaccinations, but the timeline for this is unclear.

    Currently, the state requires a variety of immunizations for participation in preschool and K-12, according to the Florida Department of Health.

    While the CDC recommends childhood vaccination schedules, school immunization requirements are typically set at the state level. However, many states use recommendations from CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to set school vaccine policies.

    According to the CDC, vaccination participation among kindergarteners in the U.S. decreased for all reported vaccines in the 2024-25 school year, compared to the previous school year.

    Data from the National Conference of State Legislatures shows all 50 states and Washington, D.C., require certain vaccinations for school attendance. Most states also give exemptions for religious or personal reasons. Only four states — California, Connecticut, Maine, and New York — allow only medical exemptions.

    According to a Sept. 12 paper from KFF, exemptions from school vaccination requirements, particularly non-medical exemptions, have increased in recent years. That coincides with shifts in attitudes about childhood vaccinations, which are likely fueled in part by vaccine misinformation, KFF said.

    At least 10 states this year have enacted legislation that could reduce childhood vaccination rates in those states. And at least one state — Colorado — made changes that could maintain or increase childhood vaccine rates, according to KFF.

    As vaccine skepticism seems to be increasing, polling shows reduced levels of support for school vaccine requirements. Just over half — 52% — of U.S. adults support their state requiring vaccinations as a condition of public or private school attendance, according to a report released in January by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. That’s down from 71% in 2019.

    About 1,077 U.S. adults were polled by Annenberg Public Policy Center for the 2025 survey.

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  • UNC System Mandates Reports on DEI Compliance

    UNC System Mandates Reports on DEI Compliance

    The University of North Carolina System’s Board of Governors issued a memorandum requiring each of the system’s 17 campuses to develop a subcommittee to evaluate the campus’s compliance with the system’s anti-diversity, equity and inclusion policy, The Assembly reported.

    They have until Sept. 1 to show how they have complied with the policy, which cancelled previous DEI guidance and mandated neutrality from administrators on political and social issues. As a result of that policy, UNC campuses reported that they laid off dozens of staffers, moved 131 people to new positions, and redirected $16 million in DEI spending to student success and wellbeing programs.

    According to the memo, the reviews should include briefings with chancellors about employees whose jobs were changed as a result of the DEI ban.

    “These confidential reviews should compare an individual’s prior position to his or her new responsibilities, including how the employee’s performance in that role has changed, and what safeguards exist to ensure an employee’s previous responsibilities do not continue in the present role,” the memo states. “Confidential briefings from the chancellor on any disciplinary action taken against personnel should occur at this time as well.”

    The memo comes after four UNC employees were secretly filmed by a conservative nonprofit discussing circumventing DEI restrictions; three of those employees are no longer employed by their universities.

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  • UC System Freezes Hiring, Bans Diversity Statement Mandates

    UC System Freezes Hiring, Bans Diversity Statement Mandates

    The University of California System’s president announced a systemwide hiring freeze and other “cost-saving measures, such as delaying maintenance and reducing business travel where possible.”

    “Because every UC location is different, these plans will vary,” president Michael V. Drake said in a Wednesday letter to the campuses of one of the country’s largest higher education systems. He said “every action that impacts our University and our workforce will only be taken after serious and deliberative consideration.”

    Drake pointed to a “substantial cut” to the system in the California state budget atop the Trump administration’s disruptive national reduction in support for postsecondary education. He said the administration’s executive orders and proposed policies “threaten funding for lifesaving research, patient care and education support.”

    “The Chancellors and I are preparing for significant financial challenges ahead,” Drake wrote.

    Whenever hiring does resume, UC universities and their components will no longer be able to require that applicants submit diversity statements. Janet Reilly, chair of the UC Board of Regents, said in a separate statement Wednesday that the board directed the system to eliminate such mandates.

    “While the University has no systemwide policies requiring the submission of diversity statements as part of employment applications, some programs and departments have used this practice,” Reilly said.

    Paulette Granberry Russell, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, told Inside Higher Ed that, “while I think diversity statements added value on the front end of a search,” it’s far more important to have a structured approach to faculty hiring. She said this approach should eliminate biases and consideration of “non–job-related criteria,” such as accents or lack of eye contact, from the process.

    Diversity statements, she said, are “not the defining factor in whether or not somebody’s going to be successful” if they earn the position.

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  • Biden Administration’s Vaccine Mandates Face Legal Challenges in Court – CUPA-HR

    Biden Administration’s Vaccine Mandates Face Legal Challenges in Court – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | December 9, 2021

    Over the past several months, the Biden administration announced and implemented several vaccine and testing mandates for federal workers, federal contractors and private employers. States and business stakeholders quickly responded with lawsuits against the administration’s mandates, which continue to be challenged in courts around the country. To keep CUPA-HR members apprised of the legal challenges, we have detailed below the most recent litigation updates for the federal contractor vaccine mandate, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) vaccine mandate for healthcare workers — all three of which are on hold pending the various lawsuits’ outcomes.

    Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate

    On September 9, President Biden issued Executive Order 14042 (EO), “Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors,” as part of his “Path Out of the Pandemic” plan. The EO tasks the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force with implementing guidance that requires all federal contractors to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for their employees. The current effective date is January 4, 2022, meaning all covered contractor employees must be fully vaccinated by January 18, 2022. A federal court recently enjoined the government from implementing the EO, however, so it remains unclear when, if ever, the mandate will go into effect.

    Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the mandate arguing that the Biden administration does not have authority to require vaccinations, and two federal courts have already issued decisions. On November 30, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued a preliminary injunction against the mandate, stopping enforcement in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee only. On December 7, a federal judge at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia granted a motion for a nationwide preliminary injunction against the vaccination mandate for federal contractors, halting enforcement for federal contractors in all states. The Biden administration is expected to challenge this decision.

    OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard

    On November 5, OSHA issued its COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS requiring employers with 100 or more employees to implement vaccination or testing policies for their workers. As it currently stands, the ETS requires covered employers and employees to be fully vaccinated by January 4, 2022. A federal court has enjoined OSHA from implementing the ETS, however, and it remains unclear whether the ETS will be in effect on January 4 or anytime thereafter.

    Over three dozen lawsuits were filed against the rule, with at least one in all 12 circuit courts in the country. On November 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit granted an emergency motion to stay the ETS, and on November 12, it extended the stay while it further reviewed the motion for a permanent injunction, ordering OSHA to stop implementation and enforcement of the ETS until further court order. Due to the high volume of cases at various circuit courts, a lottery was held on November 18 to determine which circuit court would hear the case to make a sweeping decision, which the 6th Circuit won, meaning the stay remains in place until the 6th Circuit makes a decision on the motion. It is likely the stay will remain in place until at least December 10; that said, the 6th Circuit can decide to lift the stay before that if it chooses to do so.

    CMS Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers

    On November 5, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a rule requiring healthcare workers in facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funds be vaccinated against COVID-19 by January 4, 2022. This rule also has been stayed by federal courts.

    Four lawsuits were filed against CMS challenging the agency’s authority to issue the rule. On November 29, the District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri blocked implementation and enforcement in the 10 states that challenged the rule: Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota and New Hampshire. On November 30, the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the mandate nationwide, except in the 10 states impacted by the Missouri ruling. Decisions in the two other lawsuits are still pending.

    CUPA-HR continues to monitor the ongoing litigation for all of the vaccine and testing mandates and will keep members apprised of any decisions that will impact institutions’ compliance efforts.



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