Latest news with #HeadStartAct
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
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. Read more: With Head Start in jeopardy, Trump administration threatens child care for 800,000 kids '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.' Read more: Judges block Trump threat to cut school funding over DEI, rulings extend to California 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 The Stein Early Childhood Development Fund at the California Community Foundation is among the funders. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
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 The Stein Early Childhood Development Fund at the California Community Foundation is among the funders.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Head Start sues Trump administration over DEI confusion, grant freezes to child care program
Apr. 28—The Washington office representing federal Head Start child care for families in poverty is suing Trump administration officials responsible for the program in the wake of sporadic grant freezes and threats to end it entirely. The 60-year-old federal program subsidizes child care for families below the poverty line, serving 800,000 infants to 4-year-olds around the nation, including 15,000 in child care centers in Washington. Washington's office representing Head Start is suing alongside the Illinois, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin offices, along with lobbying groups from Oregon and Oakland. They're suing the Trump administration, namely Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Andrew Gradison, Tara Hooban and their respective agencies: the Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Children and Families , and the Office of Head Start. Head Start groups are represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, imploring judicial interference to stop what they allege is illegal overreach of the Trump administration to dismantle Head Start, a congressionally established program. The 90-page complaint cites President Donald Trump's budget proposal to eliminate Head Start completely by October, on top of his administration's actions to dismantle the program thus far. Those include freezing grant funds during Trump's first week in office and shuttering its regional office in Seattle, which laid off six employees at the start of April. Across the nation, the Trump administration closed offices in 22 other states, nearly half of the program's administrative offices. The confusion and uncertainty brewed by grant freezes and fewer support staff to run these programs resulted in the weeklong closure of a day care facility in Sunnyside. The Central Washington preschool serves 400 kids and employs 70 staff. "Our goal is to make sure there's no more Sunnysides across the country," said Joel Ryan, executive director of Head Start in Washington. The lawsuit alleges diversity, equity and inclusion programing is the main issue; budget materials from the Trump Administration describe Head Start as a program that "uses a 'radical' curriculum and gives preference to illegal immigrants" and "criticizes it for diversity, equity and inclusion programming and the use of resources that encourage toddlers to welcome children and families with different sexual orientations," the lawsuit reads, quoting from Trump administration budget materials. Federal agencies never provided any guidance on what constitutes DEI, Ryan said, and how they can remove these elements from their services while also targeting the "diverse needs of the population served," as is mandated in the Head Start Act. "The programs have to serve 10% kids with disabilities, but then you're not allowed to do inclusion. What does that mean? You're not allowed to meet their needs? You're not allowed to train teachers to meet their needs? You have to segregate them?" said Jennesa Calvo-Friedman, an attorney with the ACLU who is representing the plaintiffs in the suit. A drafted version of the complaint defends Head Start programs as beneficial to bridging economic and racial disparities in child care access. Created in 1965 by Congress as a civil rights-era effort, Head Start seeks to address poverty-related issues at the root: providing child care to working families and giving poor kids access to preschool education. "Head Start's educational programming has generated documented improvements in the health, educational outcomes, and financial prospects of participating children and families," the complaint reads. "For parents and caregivers — especially mothers, who carry a disproportionate share of child care responsibilities, access to Head Start enables them to provide for their families. Without Head Start, many women, and especially women of color, would not be able to work or go to school." More than 75% of Head Start's children are from families of color, 15% have a disability and 30% live in rural areas the complaint describes as "child care deserts." "We live in a much more diverse country, and if the Head Start program is going to provide an opportunity for all kids, the services are going to be slightly different for each family," Ryan said. "It's individualized, and we're saying that's what you should do in order to make sure our kids get what they need." Elena Perry's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
