Local Head Start providers join national lawsuit against Trump Administration
May 1, 2025, 10:39 AM
Family Educator Lisa Benson-Nuyen, left, leads her students in a circle as they play music after eating breakfast in the Northern Lights classroom at the Meadow Lakes CCS Early Learning, a Head Start center, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Wasilla, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
(AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
WASHINGTON 鈥� Earlier this week, a coalition of parents and Head Start providers filed a聽聽challenging the Trump Administration鈥檚 efforts to dismantle the Head Start program.
Head Start is a federal program that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, and nutrition services to low-income children and families.
The program focuses on promoting school readiness for children from birth to age 5, with a particular emphasis on supporting their cognitive, social, and emotional development.
鈥淐ongress appropriated $10.7 billion for Head Start funding in fiscal year (FY) 2021. Of that amount, $10.3 billion was awarded directly to public agencies, private nonprofit and for-profit organizations, tribal governments, and school systems to operate Head Start programs in local communities. To improve the quality of services provided by grant recipients, nearly $247 million was directed to training and technical assistance. Half that amount was awarded directly to grant recipients to be used for local TTA, and the other half funded the regional and national system,鈥� the Office of Head Start Programs says on its website.
In a press release announcing the suit, the coalition said:
鈥淸This] would be catastrophic for the millions of people who rely on it. By slashing staff, delaying funding, and imposing bans that block programs from fulfilling their mission to support young children from low-income families, the administration is defying Congress鈥檚 mandate to continue Head Start services nationwide. This multi-pronged attack puts at risk the quality and safe early educational, health, nutritional, and social services that Head Start programs across the country provide to 800,000+ young children and their families every year.鈥�
The plaintiffs are:
- Parent groups Parent Voices Oakland and Family Forward Oregon
- The Head Start associations of Washington state, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin (represented by the American Civil Liberties Union)
- The ACLU of Washington
- The ACLU of Illinois
- The Impact Fund
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is responsible for administering Head Start, including distributing federal funds, issuing program guidance, and ensuring grantee compliance with federal law.
The complaint alleges that HHS unlawfully implemented the DOGE and anti-DEIA executive orders by gutting the program of staff and resources, delaying access to funds, and issuing vague policies that ban core Head Start programing.
These actions have already caused the suspension or termination of Head Start services and will lead to more program closures, according to the suit.
Plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the dismantling of Head Start unlawful.
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