
ACLU sues to halt Trump administration attacks on Head Start child-care program
The American Civil Liberties Union, on behalf of six early childhood organizations, including one in California, sued the Trump administration Monday to halt the dismantling of Head Start and restore cuts to the program, alleging that the actions required congressional approval.
The lawsuit, filed in the Western District of Washington, also alleged that the administration's directive to strip the program of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts is 'unconstitutionally vague,' violates the free speech of its teachers and does not provide enough guidance for providers to know what must be done to avoid losing federal funding.
The DEI allegations come days after federal judges blocked a Trump administration directive that threatened to withhold federal funds from K-12 public schools that did not comply with its anti-DEI guidance. The federal judge who made the initial ruling said the administration was unclear in its definition of DEI.
Head Start serves 800,000 low-income families across the country, including about 80,000 in California. The six organizations that joined the suit are: Parent Voices Oakland, Family Forward Oregon and Head Start associations in Washington, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The lawsuit alleges that the changes to Head Start have been made in 'blatant contravention' of Congress' approval of funding for the program. Congressional action requires the Department of Health and Human Services to maintain Head Start at its current funding and staffing levels and ensure current capacity as mandated by the Head Start Act, the suit said.
It also alleges that the anti-DEI directives compromise the quality of the program by preventing it from effectively fulfilling the 'diverse needs' of its families as dictated by the Head Start Act. Head Start requires the ability to provide linguistically and culturally appropriate services and must be permitted to employ a diverse staff in order to ensure that that is the case, the lawsuit read.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which funds Head Start, did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Head Start, which has provided child care, health screenings and meals to millions of low-income children since its founding in 1965, has faced multiple disruptions since the start of President Trump's term. Centers faced funding delays after an executive order temporarily froze federal aid in January, causing some providers to struggle to meet payroll and others to shutter temporarily. Then, scores of federal Head Start workers were laid off in February, followed by the closure of five of 12 regional offices in April, including the Region 9 office, which oversees California.
Most recently, a leaked draft of the budget proposal for the Department of Health and Human Services revealed the department's proposal to totally defund Head Start by 2026. The budget proposal must be approved by Congress.
'We know what this administration's goal is — they've told us,' said ACLU Women's Rights Project attorney Jennesa Calvo-Friedman, who is lead counsel in the case. 'It's to terminate the Head Start program. We are seeing them already take steps to do that.'
Clarissa Doutherd, executive director of Parent Voices Oakland, said eliminating Head Start would bring many families to a breaking point.
'We're seeing families struggle paycheck to paycheck trying to establish a better future for their children, and those dreams are slipping through their fingers,' Doutherd said. 'It's critical — this comprehensive support system that helps families thrive by providing education, health and workforce development opportunities.'
Head Start has historically received support from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, though Trump has challenged the program's funding before — albeit unsuccessfully. He proposed cutting Head Start funding by $85 million in 2018 and by $29 billion over 10 years in 2019, but neither proposal succeeded. Instead, program funding increased during both budget years.
This year Head Start was slated to receive more than $12 billion in funding. California alone was slated to receive about $1.6 billion in grants.
The program was most recently targeted by Project 2025, which called for its termination, alleging it was 'fraught with scandal and abuse' and had 'little or no long-term academic value for children.' Head Start, however, does not mandate a particular curriculum and is not the only child-care program available to low-income families. Research has also shown it's had a number of positive impacts on children.
This article is part of The Times' early childhood education initiative, focusing on the learning and development of California children from birth to age 5. For more information about the initiative and its philanthropic funders, go to latimes.com/earlyed. The Stein Early Childhood Development Fund at the California Community Foundation is among the funders.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Black America Web
22 minutes ago
- Black America Web
Donald Trump Stumbles On Air Force One Steps, Social Media Trolls Him With Old Man Jokes
Source: SAUL LOEB / Getty President Donald Trump's having a pretty stressful week. First, he had a very public spat with his former best friend, Elon Musk, on social media, and now he has fanned the flames of Los Angeles' immigration policy protests by deploying the National Guard. But if there's one thing he despises above all, weakness is probably up there, and nearly falling in public falls under that umbrella. It came after he faced a bunch of questions from the media about the Los Angeles uprising. He said that while there's no need to invoke the Insurrection Act currently, there are 'violent people,' a nd 'We are not going to let them get away with it.' He added, 'We are not going to let our country be torn apart like it was under Biden.' Ironically, the comment was made moments before his near tumble, as former President Joe Biden's steadiness on his feet was also a constant issue. Trump was in Hagerstown, Maryland, boarding Air Force One heading to Camp David, and while climbing the steps, he tripped and caught himself before falling over. Seconds later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio tripped while going up the steps, too. Biden's mental acuity was questioned due to his balance issues, brain fog, and being the eldest president ever at 82, and Trump used it against him, even nicknaming him sleepy Joe. 'Could we take a vote, please? Who wants to call him crooked Joe? Who wants to call him sleepy Joe? That's my problem, they work like the same,' Trump said at a National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) fundraising event in April. ' Joe had one ability that I didn't have. He could sit down on a beach and he could fall asleep. Who the hell could do that? I could never fall asleep under these circumstances, I would be very conscious of my body.' But now, the tables have turned, and 78-year-old Trump's mentions have been flooded with old jokes. See the reactions below. Donald Trump Stumbles On Air Force One Steps, Social Media Trolls Him With Old Man Jokes was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Marines arrive in LA under Trump orders as protests spread to other cities
By Brad Brooks, Jorge Garcia, Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Hundreds of U.S. Marines arrived in Los Angeles overnight and more were expected on Tuesday under orders from President Donald Trump, who has also activated 4,000 National Guard troops to quell protests despite objections from California Governor Gavin Newsom and other local leaders. The city has seen days of public outrage since the Trump administration launched a series of immigration raids on Friday, though local officials said the demonstrations on Monday were largely peaceful. About half of the roughly 700 Marines that Trump ordered to Los Angeles arrived on Monday night, and the remaining troops will enter the city on Tuesday, a U.S. official told Reuters. The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told KABC that more than 100 people had been arrested on Monday but that the majority of protesters were nonviolent. Over the weekend, protesters threw rocks and other objects at officers and vehicles and set several cars ablaze. Police responded by firing projectiles like pepper balls as well as flash bang grenades and tear gas. Trump has justified his decision to deploy active military troops to Los Angeles by describing the protests as a violent occupation of the city, a characterization that Newsom and Bass have said is grossly exaggerated. Newsom said that Trump's deployment of National Guard troops has only inflamed the situation and made it more difficult for local law enforcement to respond to the demonstrations. In a statement on Monday, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the department had not been notified that any Marines were traveling to the city and that their possible arrival "presents a significant logistical and operational challenge" for police. Trump's decision to mobilize 700 Marines based in Southern California escalated his confrontation with Newsom, who filed a lawsuit on Monday asserting that Trump's deployment of Guard troops without the governor's consent was illegal. The Guard deployment was the first time in decades that a president activated the Guard absent a request from a sitting governor. While the Marines are only tasked with guarding federal property temporarily until the full contingent of 4,000 Guard troops arrives, the use of active military to respond to civil disturbances is extremely rare. "This isn't about public safety," Newsom wrote on X on Monday. "It's about stroking a dangerous President's ego." The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Jack Reed, said he was "gravely troubled" by Trump's deployment of active-duty Marines. "Since our nation's founding, the American people have been perfectly clear: we do not want the military conducting law enforcement on U.S. soil," he said. In a post on Tuesday morning on Truth Social, Trump claimed Los Angeles would be "burning to the ground right now" if he had not deployed troops to the city. DEMONSTRATIONS AND ARRESTS The raids are part of Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown, which Democrats and immigrant advocates have said are indiscriminately breaking up families. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pledged on Monday to carry out more operations to round up suspected immigration violators. Trump officials have branded the protests as lawless and blamed state and local Democrats for protecting undocumented immigrants with sanctuary cities. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on Monday outside a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles where immigrants have been held, chanting "free them all" and waving Mexican and Central American flags. National Guard forces formed a human barricade to keep people out of the building, and late on Monday, police began dispersing the crowd using gas canisters and arrested some protesters. At dusk, officers had running confrontations with protesters who had scattered into the Little Tokyo section of the city. As people watched from apartment patios above street level and as tourists huddled inside hotels, a large contingent of LAPD and officers and sheriff's deputies fired several flash bangs that boomed through side streets along with tear gas. Protests spread to neighboring Orange County on Monday night after immigration raids there, with demonstrators gathering at the Santa Ana Federal building, according to local officials and news reports. Protests also sprang up in at least nine other U.S. cities on Monday, including New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco, according to local news reports. In Austin, Texas, police fired non-lethal munitions and detained several people as they clashed with a crowd of several hundred protesters.


Black America Web
22 minutes ago
- Black America Web
Doechii Slams Trump Administration In Powerful BET Awards Acceptance Speech
Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Doechii was all smiles as she accepted the 2025 BET Awards for 'Best Female Hip Hop Artist.' After all, it's the 'Anxiety' artist's first BET Award. But instead of a traditional acceptance speech, she used her platform to bring awareness to the peaceful protest outside the Peacock Theater, which is being forcefully interrupted by authorities. 'I do want to address what's happening right now, outside the building,' she said passionately.'These are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities. In the name of law and order, Trump is using military forces to stop a protest, and I want you all to consider what kind of government it appears to be — when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us.' Dozens of people have been detained and taken into custody during raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, prompting protests in the DTLA area, NBC News reports. 'People are being swept up and torn from their families, and I feel it is my responsibility as an artist to use this moment to speak up for all oppressed people,' she added. Per AP, an initial 2,000 Guard troops ordered by Trump started arriving Sunday, which saw the most violence during three days of protests driven by anger over Trump's stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws that critics say are breaking apart migrant families. These attacks on our civil liberties is more evidence of the Trump Administration's failure to the people. 'This isn't about public safety,' Gov. Gavin Newsom said. 'It's about stroking a dangerous President's ego.' SEE ALSO Doechii Slams Trump Administration In Powerful BET Awards Acceptance Speech was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE