The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Trump administration on Monday on behalf of six infant organisations, including one in California, to sues the Trump administration to halt the demolition of HeadStart, restore program cuts, and argued that the action required Congressional approval.
The lawsuit filed in the Western District of Washington argues that the administration’s instructions to strip the program of diversity, equity and comprehensive efforts are “unconstitutional and ambiguous” and that it does not provide enough guidance to provide enough guidance to know what needs to be done to avoid violating teachers’ freedom of speech and losing federal funds.
The DEI complaint comes days after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s instructions that threatened to withhold federal funds from K-12 public schools that do not comply with anti-DEI guidance. The federal judge who gave the first ruling said the administration is unclear in the definition of DEI.
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HeadStart serves 800,000 low-income families nationwide, including approximately 80,000 people in California. The six organisations that took part in the lawsuit are the Head Start Associations of Parent Voice, Oakland, Family Forward Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The lawsuit alleges that the Head Start changes were made in a “blatant violation” of Congress’ approval of funding the program. Congress’ actions require the Department of Health and Human Services to maintain Head Start at current funding and staffing levels and ensure current capabilities required by the Head Start Act, the lawsuit said.
It also argues that anti-DEI directives compromise the quality of the program by preventing effective meeting the “diverse needs” of families, as determined by the Head Start Act. Headstart requires the ability to provide linguistically and culturally appropriate services and must be permitted to employ diverse staff to ensure that it is, the lawsuit reads.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which funds HeadStart, did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Having provided childcare, health screenings and meals to millions of low-income groups since its founding in 1965, Headstart has faced multiple disruptions since the start of President Trump’s term. The center faced delays in funds after an executive order temporarily freezes federal aid in January, with some providers having trouble meeting payroll and others temporarily closing. The Federal Head Start Worker score was then fired in February, and five of the 12 regional offices, including the Regional nine offices overseeing California, were closed in April.
Most recently, a leaked draft budget proposal for the Department of Health and Human Services revealed the department’s proposal to fully refund heads by 2026. The budget proposal must be approved by the Congress.
“We know what the goals of this administration are – they told us,” said Genesa Carbo Friedman, ACLU Women’s Rights Project lawyer. “It’s about finishing the Head Start program. We’re watching them take steps to do that already.”
Clarissa Doutherd, executive director of Parent Voices Oakland, said many families will earn breakpoints by eliminating head start.
“We’ve seen families struggle with payroll in an attempt to establish a better future for their children, and those dreams are slipping fingers,” Doutherd says. “It’s important. It’s this comprehensive support system that helps families thrive by providing opportunities for education, health and workforce development.”
Although Head Start has historically been supported by both Congressional Democrats and Republicans, Trump has previously tried to fund the program, but failed. He proposed $85 million in 2018 and $29 billion in Cuthead Start funding over a decade in 2019, but neither proposal was successful. Instead, program funding increased in both budget years.
Headstart was expected to receive more than $12 billion in funding this year. California alone was planning to receive a grant of around $1.6 billion.
The program recently targeted Project 2025, claiming it is “full of scandal and abuse,” and “lives of little or no long-term academic value for a child.” However, Head Start does not mandate a specific curriculum and is not the only childcare program available to low-income families. Research also shows that there are many positive effects on children.
This article is part of the Times Early Childhood Education Initiative and focuses on learning and development for California children from birth to age 5. To learn more about the initiative and its charity funders, visit latimes.com/earlyed. The California Community Foundation’s Stein Early Childhood Development Fund is one of the funders.
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