Under Trump, Head Start grant applications are being scrubbed of words like ‘women,’ ‘race’ and ‘pregnant’
The Trump administration has begun directing Head Start providers to avoid using a wide range of terms in federal grant applications, a move that could alter how the early childhood programme documents and delivers services.The Department of Health and Human Services has told at least one Head Start director in Wisconsin to remove words such as “race,” “belonging” and “pregnant people” from a grant application. She was later provided with a list of nearly 200 discouraged terms, including “Black,” “Native American,” “disability” and “women,” AP reports.
The administration’s case against DEI
The guidance mirrors the Trump administration’s broader push to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion related language and initiatives from federal programmes. Officials view many of the listed terms as connected to DEI efforts the administration has pledged to dismantle across government.Ruth Friedman, who previously led the Office of Child Care under former President Joe Biden, told AP that the directive is already shaping behaviour on the ground. Providers, she said, may preemptively drop activities required by law out of fear of losing funding.“Grantees are sort of self-selecting out of those activities beforehand because of fear and direction they’re getting from the Office of Head Start,” Friedman said, according to AP.
The legal challenge now underway
The issue is now before the courts. Parent groups and Head Start associations in Washington, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin filed a lawsuit in April against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other officials. They argue the administration is illegally dismantling Head Start by forcing changes that conflict with the Head Start Act.That law requires programmes to collect and report demographic information about the families they serve. Plaintiffs say complying becomes difficult if providers are discouraged from using words such as “Black,” “disability” or “socioeconomic.” Health and Human Services has said it does not comment on pending litigation, AP reports.
Why grant language matters for Head Start
Head Start centres rely largely on federal funding. The programme serves infants, toddlers and young children from low-income households, as well as families experiencing homelessness or foster care placement.Court filings describe growing confusion among providers. The standard grant application itself asks for demographic data, including estimates of pregnant women and children with disabilities, terms now flagged as problematic.“This has put me in an impossible situation,” the unnamed Wisconsin Head Start director wrote in the filing, according to AP. Including the required language could risk losing funding, she said, while removing it could expose the programme to penalties for violating federal law.
Impact on tribal and disability-related services
Another Head Start programme on a Native American reservation in Washington state was instructed to cut “all Diversity and Inclusion-related activities,” according to the lawsuit. As a result, the centre dropped staff training on supporting autistic children and those affected by trauma. Officials also told the director she could no longer prioritise tribal members for enrolment, despite explicit permission under the Head Start Act. The word “Tribal” appeared on the discouraged list.
A longer pattern of pressure on the programme
The guidance fits into a longer pattern of attempts to weaken Head Start, a programme that has historically drawn bipartisan support but has faced renewed conservative criticism.“They don’t believe these public programs should actually be open to serving all communities,” Jennesa Calvo-Friedman of the American Civil Liberties Union, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told AP. She described the word bans as a way to erode the programme’s core requirements.
Funding delays and earlier warning signs
Shortly after Trump returned to office, his budget chief attempted to halt all federal grants to review potential DEI links. Although Head Start was not meant to be included and the freeze was quickly reversed, providers later reported funding delays that forced some centres to close temporarily.The Government Accountability Office later found those delays violated the Impoundment Control Act, which limits a president’s ability to block congressionally approved funds.
What is Head Start?
Head Start is a federally funded early childhood programme launched in 1965. It provides education, health, nutrition and family support services to children from birth to age five from low-income families. Alongside preschool education, the programme emphasises parental involvement, developmental screenings and access to basic services that support school readiness.
