Judge Halts Trump Administration’s Effort to Reshape Head Start

A federal judge has issued a temporary order blocking the Trump administration’s initiative to eliminate terms linked to diversity, equity, and inclusion from Head Start grant applications. This decision also prohibits the administration from laying off any additional staff in the Office of Head Start. The ruling was made by U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez in Seattle and is a response to a lawsuit filed in April 2023 against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other officials.

The lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration has unlawfully dismantled Head Start by closing federal offices and reducing the workforce by approximately half. It also challenges the administration’s attempts to exclude undocumented children from participating in Head Start programs and to prohibit language deemed supportive of DEI principles.

According to court documents, the plaintiff organizations, which include representatives of Head Start providers and parents, reported that officials instructed a Head Start director in Wisconsin to remove terms such as “race,” “belonging,” and “pregnant people” from her grant application. Furthermore, they provided a list of nearly 200 terms that the department discouraged, including “Black,” “Native American,” “disability,” and “women.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services declined to comment on the judge’s ruling.

Founded over fifty years ago as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, Head Start is an early education and family support initiative that serves hundreds of thousands of children from low-income households, foster care, or homelessness. While federally funded, the program is administered by various nonprofits, schools, and local governments.

The ruling has been welcomed by advocates who assert that the administration’s actions threaten the integrity of Head Start. Joel Ryan, who leads the Washington State Head Start & Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, stated, “When a Head Start program has their funding withheld because of their efforts to provide effective education to children with autism or serve tribal members on a reservation, it is an attack on the fundamental promise of the Head Start program.”

The directive concerning prohibited terms has caused confusion among Head Start directors, who are required by law to report demographic information about the families they serve while detailing how they plan to utilize grant funds. A director from Washington state highlighted in a court filing that the guidance resulted in the cancellation of staff training sessions designed to support children with autism and those who have experienced trauma.

Judge Martinez’s order, published on Monday, restricts the Department of Health and Human Services from cutting any more employees and protects Head Start providers from penalties for using disallowed language. This ruling represents a significant moment in the ongoing debate over diversity and inclusion initiatives within federal programs aimed at supporting vulnerable populations.

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