A coalition of parents and education providers have filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration over its proposed cuts to the federally-funded Head Start program providing free services to hundreds of thousands of children from low-income families.
The lawsuit, filed in the Western District of Washington, accuses the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of unlawfully attempting to dismantle Head Start without approval from Congress. It also claims that the Trump administration's efforts to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in the child care program are "unconstitutionally vague" and violate free speech protections.
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"Since taking office, the Trump administration has tried to destabilize, paralyze, and sow chaos in Head Start. They have frozen funding, conducted mass layoffs at the federal HHS regional offices, slow walked grants—which led to 400 families scrambling to find childcare—and now are proposing to eliminate Head Start completely,” Joel Ryan, executive director of the Washington State Association of Head Start and Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, said in a statement.
"If we want to preserve Head Start for the children currently being served and uphold its commitment to ensuring that all children are ready for school—regardless of their background, income, race, ethnicity, or zip code—we must stand up to the unlawful actions this administration has taken to kneecap Head Start," Ryan added.
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Launched in 1965 as part of former President Lyndon B. Johnson's "War on Poverty," Head Start provides preschool-aged children from low-income families with early education, health care, meals, and other support to help prepare them for school. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the Trump administration has "taken direct steps to halt services by closing half of all Regional Head Start offices and laying off their staff."
"The administration is brazenly attempting to dismantle Head Start piece by piece in clear violation of the Constitution and congressional directives," said Jennesa Calvo-Friedman, senior staff attorney at the ACLU Women's Rights Project. "We will not stand by and watch HHS upend the lives of the many people that depend on their Head Start providers. The program is a cornerstone in communities across the country, and we are fighting to preserve access to critical education programs and childcare services for all Head Start families."
