Head Start Providers Happy But Cautious After Federal Judge Halts DEI Ban The 74
Head Start Providers Happy But Cautious After Federal Judge Halts DEI Ban The 74
In late November, the leader of a Native American Head Start program on a reservation in Western Washington State opened an email from the federal government to see that her annual application for funding had been denied.
The government shutdown had already delayed the much-needed funds by weeks, threatening a closure of her center, which serves toddlers and preschoolers in a tribe of less than 1,000. And now, a week after the government had re-opened, her application had been “flagged for containing language that is not allowable under current federal guidance.”
The culprit? Two trainings for teachers — one focused on inclusionary practices for kids with autism and the other on tools to support young children as they process trauma. Integral to both — and also part of the rejection — an acknowledgment that Native American children would receive priority enrollment in her Head Start classrooms and programming, as federal policy stipulates.
“But we’re supposed to do those things,” the education director, who asked not to be identified because she fears retribution from the Trump administration, told The 74. “So for them to pull them? I’m just — I’m not understanding.”
the و a و for – تفاصيل مهمة
Ultimately, although she deeply believed the training sessions and prioritizing indigenous children were inherent to her center’s success and part of its stated mission, she wiped the offending language. Her updated grant was almost immediately approved.
Until last week such existential calculations were being forced on Head Start programs across the country by the Trump’s administration 2025 executive order banning practices involving diversity, equity and inclusion. On Tuesday, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction temporarily halting the administration’s anti-DEI edict.
“This is a huge victory for kids!” Joel Ryan, executive director of the Washington State Head Start & Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, said in a statement. “When a Head Start program has their funding withheld because of their efforts to provide effective education to children with autism, serve tribal members on a reservation, or treat all families with respect, it is an attack on the fundamental promise of the Head Start program.”
The federal early education and support program for low-income families turned 60 last year, a milestone that coincided with perhaps its most challenging and chaotic year. In 2025, the Trump administration froze — then quickly unfroze, then delayed — grant funding, shuttered five regional offices and fired scores of employees. And during the government shutdown, roughly 10,000 kids across 22 programs lost access to services.
the و a و and – تفاصيل مهمة
The administration also took aim at Head Start’s statutory purpose of better preparing young children in poverty for school by forbidding providers from overtly addressing issues of race, gender or disability, experts said. The banned word list for grant applications included “disabilities,” “underprivileged” and “Native American.”
The Washington State Native American Head Start director said on reservations “just about every one of our children have been touched by trauma” that relates to their race and the painful history of indigenous people in the U.S.
“If we don’t know how to work with kids where things are being triggered,” she added, “then how are we going to move forward and have the best education for these kids so they are not shutting down all the time?”
of و the و The – تفاصيل مهمة
Thrilled but cautious
The Jan. 6 injunction was part of a lawsuit filed in April 2025 against Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.
Kennedy Jr. and other officials, alleging that the administration was attempting to illegally dismantle Head Start, which serves roughly 700,000 children and families a year.
Roughly 80% of Head Start’s funding comes from HHS and it has long been a stated goal of the right wing to eliminate the program.
The ruling means that for the duration of the ongoing case, the administration can’t enforce the DEI ban nor can it punish Head Start providers for including DEI-related language in their applications or practices in their programs. The judge also ruled the administration cannot fire any employees at the Office of Head Start, though the sweeping layoffs that have already occurred stand.
the و Head و of – تفاصيل مهمة
Back in September, the same judge granted a temporary injunction halting the administration from banning undocumented preschoolers and other groups of immigrant children from enrolling in Head Start programs.
In a mandated announcement Friday afternoon, the federal Office of Head Start acknowledged the court’s ruling, saying, certain actions against “DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) … may not be implemented or enforced” for the time being, though they didn’t provide any guidance for providers who were forced to remove training and programming in past applications.
The Office of Head Start and HHS did not immediately reply to a request for comment on whether further guidance was forthcoming.
Head و Start و the – تفاصيل مهمة
The Washington grantee expressed cautious optimism in response to the ruling, paired with significant anxiety about what comes next. Her approved application is a binding contract, she said, and since it does not include the trauma and autism trainings or prioritization of native kids, she fears she’ll be deemed out of compliance and forced to pay back the money if she proceeds in that direction anyway.
She said she could try to re-submit an updated application that includes the previously banned words, but “that would be calling attention to us, and I really am afraid of the retaliation,” especially given the non-permanent nature of the injunction.
“Whenever you put ‘temporary’ on something, I’m always cautious,” she added. “Yes, if things come out I feel like there will be support and it’ll take care of this, but you can’t be certain of that in this political climate.”
It’s possible the Trump administration could appeal the injunction and it’s not clear how long it will take the underlying case to work its way through the courts.
the و of و to – تفاصيل مهمة
In the meantime, Ryan, executive director of Washington’s Head Start Association, emphasized that the Trump administration “can’t enforce a contract that is going against the law.” But, he acknowledged, “what that means on the ground is different, because there’s so much fear of retaliation.”
“I’m getting a sense that people will move with a lot of caution at first here to see what happens,” he said. “I don’t know if they’re going to want to make wholesale changes right out of the gate.”
Linda Morris, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project and one of the attorneys who filed the suit, said that while this ruling “doesn’t undo those harms that the administration already inflicted,” it’s still “a huge win for families and it’s a huge win for Head Start providers.”
“We’re thrilled with the decision,” said Morris.
the و a و that – تفاصيل مهمة
The initial DEI ban, she said, had put Head Start providers in “an impossible bind,” since they were being required to remove programming and words from their grant applications that were required by the statutory text of the Head Start Act.
They were “in constant fear of being forced to comply with an unlawful directive and potentially be out of step with their mission and their obligations under the Head Start Act or,” she said, “they risk being punished and losing their funding and even being forced to close.”
‘If it weren’t real life, it would be hilarious’
Morris and her ACLU colleagues first filed the lawsuit last spring on behalf of a number of state Head Start Associations as well as parent organizations. Initially, the complaint challenged the mass layoffs and restructuring of the federal Office of Head Start as well as the DEI ban, alleging all were causing irreparable harm.
In July, they updated the complaint following the Trump administration’s unprecedented move to exclude families from Head Start based on immigration status.
The complaint was again updated after the executive director of a Head Start agency in Wisconsin had her Jan. 1 grant application returned with instructions to remove 19 words and phrases, including “institutional,” “historically,” “equity,” “belong” and “pregnant people.” Later that morning, the Office of Head Start followed up with a “complete least of (nearly 200) words” banned from Head Start applications.
In response, senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) issued a Dec. 18 letter to RFK Jr. expressing “outrage.”
“The chaos you are creating is already jeopardizing services for nearly 700,000 young children across this country,” they wrote, adding that “the ambiguous policy was not accompanied by clarification on what the Administration considers ‘DEI,’ and Head Start programs were left with no meaningful guidance on compliance.”
Head و Start و and – تفاصيل مهمة
Ultimately, the Wisconsin provider updated her application to fit this new criteria, but, she wrote in a court record, “compliance is challenging because many of the words on the list are integral to Head Start programming requirements.” The grant application itself, she noted, “already includes some of these prohibited words in pre-populated text … and application questions specifically request responses that include these words.”
“This has put me in an impossible situation,” she continued.
Jennie Mauer, the executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association, said this grantee was one of three in her state serving roughly 860 young children to have their applications returned this month because of the DEI ban. Another was accused of non-compliance for writing that they would make an effort to “utilize small businesses, minority businesses, and women-owned businesses.”
“If it weren’t real life, it would be hilarious,” said Mauer. “There are things that are in the form like, ‘Tell us how you’re going to serve children with disabilities,’ but then you can’t say the word ‘disability.’ How do you wrap your head around that?
the و of و in – تفاصيل مهمة
It’s infuriating. I’m just wringing my hands over here.”
The latest ruling, she said, “doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is better, but it means that these worst-case scenarios aren’t going to come to fruition,” at least not immediately.
And while she’s hopeful the government will comply with the judge’s order, damage has been done to Head Start communities, she said, leaving program leaders, providers and families worried.
“You feel like we’re in this sort of Cold War environment where people are afraid,” she said. “You shouldn’t be afraid of your government.”
she و to و said, – تفاصيل مهمة
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Disclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification. We do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n; n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’); fbq(‘init’, ‘626037510879173’); // 626037510879173 fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);{“@context”:”http://schema.org”,”@type”:”NewsArticle”,”dateCreated”:”2026-01-13T04:38:44+04:00″,”datePublished”:”2026-01-13T04:38:44+04:00″,”dateModified”:”2026-01-13T04:38:44+04:00″,”headline”:”Head Start Providers Happy But Cautious After Federal Judge Halts DEI Ban The 74″,”name”:”Head Start Providers Happy But Cautious After Federal Judge Halts DEI Ban The 74″,”keywords”:[],”url”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/head-start-providers-happy-but-cautious-after-federal-judge-halts-dei-ban-the-74/”,”description”:”In late November, the leader of a Native American Head Start program on a reservation in Western Washington State opened an email from the federal government to see that her annual application for fun”,”copyrightYear”:”2026″,”articleSection”:”Education”,”articleBody”:”nnntttttnntttttnntttttnntttttnn n n n n nIn late November, the leader of a Native American Head Start program on a reservation in Western Washington State opened an email from the federal government to see that her annual application for funding had been denied. nnnnThe government shutdown had already delayed the much-needed funds by weeks, threatening a closure of her center, which serves toddlers and preschoolers in a tribe of less than 1,000. And now, a week after the government had re-opened, her application had been u201cflagged for containing language that is not allowable under current federal guidance.u201dnnnnnnnnIn a November email, a Washington State Head Start grantee was told her grant application was flagged for containing federally banned language. (ACLU) nnnnThe culprit? Two trainings for teachers u2014 one focused on inclusionary practices for kids with autism and the other on tools to support young children as they process trauma. Integral to both u2014u00a0and also part of the rejection u2014u00a0an acknowledgment that Native American children would receive priority enrollment in her Head Start classrooms and programming, as federal policy stipulates. nnnnu201cBut weu2019re supposed to do those things,u201d the education director, who asked not to be identified because she fears retribution from the Trump administration, told The 74. u201cSo for them to pull them? Iu2019m just u2014u00a0Iu2019m not understanding.u201dnnnnUltimately, although she deeply believed the training sessions and prioritizing indigenous children were inherent to her centeru2019s success and part of its stated mission, she wiped the offending language. Her updated grant was almost immediately approved.nnnnUntil last week such existential calculations were being forced on Head Start programs across the country by the Trumpu2019s administration 2025 executive order banning practices involving diversity, equity and inclusion. On Tuesday, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction temporarily halting the administrationu2019s anti-DEI edict. nnnnu201cThis is a huge victory for kids!u201d Joel Ryan, executive director of the Washington State Head Start & Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, said in a statement. u201cWhen a Head Start program has their funding withheld because of their efforts to provide effective education to children with autism, serve tribal members on a reservation, or treat all families with respect, it is an attack on the fundamental promise of the Head Start program.u201dnnnnA child plays outside at a Washington State Head Start program. (Educational Opportunities for Children and Families)nnnnThe federal early education and support program for low-income families turned 60 last year, a milestone that coincided with perhaps its most challenging and chaotic year. In 2025, the Trump administrationu00a0 froze u2014 then quickly unfroze, then delayed u2014 grant funding, shuttered five regional offices and fired scores of employees. And during the government shutdown, roughly 10,000 kids across 22 programs lost access to services.nnnnRelatedThe Shutdown Is Over, But Thousands of Kids Are Still Locked Out of Head StartnnnnThe administration also took aim at Head Startu2019s statutory purpose of better preparing young children in poverty for school by forbidding providers from overtly addressing issues of race, gender or disability, experts said. The banned word list for grant applications included u201cdisabilities,u201d u201cunderprivilegedu201d and u201cNative American.u201dnnnnThe Washington State Native American Head Start director said on reservations u201cjust about every one of our children have been touched by traumau201d that relates to their race and the painful history of indigenous people in the U.S. nnnnu201cIf we donu2019t know how to work with kids where things are being triggered,u201d she added, u201cthen how are we going to move forward and have the best education for these kids so they are not shutting down all the time?u201dnnnnThrilled but cautiousnnnnThe Jan. 6 injunction was part of a lawsuit filed in April 2025 against Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other officials, alleging that the administration was attempting to illegally dismantle Head Start, which serves roughly 700,000 children and families a year.nnnnRoughly 80% of Head Startu2019s funding comes from HHS and it has long been a stated goal of the right wing to eliminate the program.nnnnThe ruling means that for the duration of the ongoing case, the administration canu2019t enforce the DEI ban nor can it punish Head Start providers for including DEI-related language in their applications or practices in their programs. The judge also ruled the administration cannot fire any more employees at the Office of Head Start, though the sweeping layoffs that have already occurred stand. nnnnBack in September, the same judge granted a temporary injunction halting the administration from banning undocumented preschoolers and other groups of immigrant children from enrolling in Head Start programs.nnnnRelatedUndocumented Preschoolers Can Stay in Head Start u2014u00a0For NownnnnIn a mandated announcement Friday afternoon, the federal Office of Head Start acknowledged the courtu2019s ruling, saying, certain actions against u201cDEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) u2026 may not be implemented or enforcedu201d for the time being, though they didnu2019t provide any guidance for providers who were forced to remove training and programming in past applications.nnnnIn a mandated announcement Friday afternoon, the federal Office of Head Start acknowledged Tuesdayu2019s temporary injunction. (Office of Head Start)nnnThe Office of Head Start and HHS did not immediately reply to a request for comment on whether further guidance was forthcoming. nnnnThe Washington grantee expressed cautious optimism in response to the ruling, paired with significant anxiety about what comes next. Her approved application is a binding contract, she said, and since it does not include the trauma and autism trainings or prioritization of native kids, she fears sheu2019ll be deemed out of compliance and forced to pay back the money if she proceeds in that direction anyway. nnnnShe said she could try to re-submit an updated application that includes the previously banned words, but u201cthat would be calling more attention to us, and I really am afraid of the retaliation,u201d especially given the non-permanent nature ofu00a0 the injunction.nnnnu201cWhenever you put u2018temporaryu2019 on something, Iu2019m always cautious,u201d she added. u201cYes, if more things come out I feel like there will be support and itu2019ll take care of this, but you canu2019t be certain of that in this political climate.u201d nnnnItu2019s possible the Trump administration could appeal the injunction and itu2019s not clear how long it will take the underlying case to work its way through the courts.nnnnIn the meantime, Ryan, executive director of Washingtonu2019s Head Start Association, emphasized that the Trump administration u201ccanu2019t enforce a contract that is going against the law.u201d But, he acknowledged, u201cwhat that means on the ground is different, because thereu2019s so much fear of retaliation.u201dnnnnu201cIu2019m getting a sense that people will move with a lot of caution at first here to see what happens,u201d he said. u201cI donu2019t know if theyu2019re going to want to make wholesale changes right out of the gate.u201dnnnnLinda Morris, senior staff attorney at the ACLUu2019s Womenu2019s Rights Project and one of the attorneys who filed the suit,u00a0 said that while this ruling u201cdoesnu2019t undo those harms that the administration already inflicted,u201d itu2019s still u201ca huge win for families and itu2019s a huge win for Head Start providers.u201dnnnnu201cWeu2019re thrilled with the decision,u201d said Morris.nnnnThe initial DEI ban, she said, had put Head Start providers in u201can impossible bind,u201d since they were being required to remove programming and words from their grant applications that were required by the statutory text of the Head Start Act. nnnnThey were u201cin constant fear of being forced to comply with an unlawful directive and potentially be out of step with their mission and their obligations under the Head Start Act or,u201d she said, u201cthey risk being punished and losing their funding and even being forced to close.u201dnnnnu2018If it werenu2019t real life, it would be hilariousu2019nnnnMorris and her ACLU colleagues first filed the lawsuit last spring on behalf of a number of state Head Start Associations as well as parent organizations. Initially, the complaint challenged the mass layoffs and restructuring of the federal Office of Head Start as well as the DEI ban, alleging all were causing irreparable harm.nnnnRelatedWave of Washington Head Starts Shut Down as Chaos Engulfs Federal ProgramnnnnIn July, they updated the complaint following the Trump administrationu2019s unprecedented move to exclude families from Head Start based on immigration status.nnnnThe complaint was again updated after the executive director of a Head Start agency in Wisconsin had her Jan. 1 grant application returned with instructions to remove 19 words and phrases, including u201cinstitutional,u201d u201chistorically,u201d u201cequity,u201d u201cbelongu201d and u201cpregnant people.u201d Later that morning, the Office of Head Start followed up with a u201ccomplete least of (nearly 200) wordsu201d banned from Head Start applications.nnnnIn response, senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) issued a Dec. 18 letter to RFK Jr. expressing u201coutrage.u201dnnnnu201cThe chaos you are creating is already jeopardizing services for nearly 700,000 young children across this country,u201d they wrote, adding that u201cthe ambiguous policy was not accompanied by clarification on what the Administration considers u2018DEI,u2019 and Head Start programs were left with no meaningful guidance on compliance.u201dnnnnUltimately, the Wisconsin provider updated her application to fit this new criteria, but, she wrote in a court record, u201ccompliance is challenging because many of the words on the list are integral to Head Start programming requirements.u201d The grant application itself, she noted, u201calready includes some of these prohibited words in pre-populated text u2026 and application questions specifically request responses that include these words.u201dnnnnu201cThis has put me in an impossible situation,u201d she continued.nnnnJennie Mauer is the executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association. (Jennie Mauer)nnnJennie Mauer, the executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association, said this grantee was one of three in her state serving roughly 860 young children to have their applications returned this month because of the DEI ban. Another was accused of non-compliance for writing that they would make an effort to u201cutilize small businesses, minority businesses, and women-owned businesses.u201dnnnnu201cIf it werenu2019t real life, it would be hilarious,u201d said Mauer. u201cThere are things that are in the form like, u2018Tell us how youu2019re going to serve children with disabilities,u2019 but then you canu2019t say the word u2018disability.u2019 How do you wrap your head around that? Itu2019s infuriating. Iu2019m just wringing my hands over here.u201dnnnnThe latest ruling, she said, u201cdoesnu2019t necessarily mean that everything is better, but it means that these worst-case scenarios arenu2019t going to come to fruition,u201d at least not immediately.nnnnAnd while sheu2019s hopeful the government will comply with the judgeu2019s order, damage hasu00a0 been done to Head Start communities, she said, leaving program leaders, providers and families worried.nnnnu201cYou feel like weu2019re in this sort of Cold War environment where people are afraid,u201d she said. u201cYou shouldnu2019t be afraid of your government.u201dnn n n n Did you use this article in your work?
nWeu2019d love to hear how The 74u2019s reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers. Tell us hown n n !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;n t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,n document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);n fbq(‘init’, ‘626037510879173’); // 626037510879173n fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);n rnrnrnrnrnDisclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification. rnWe do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.rnrnrnrnrnrnAuthor: Amanda GeduldrnPublished on: 2026-01-13 00:27:00rnSource: www.the74million.orgrnrn”,”publisher”:{“@id”:”#Publisher”,”@type”:”Organization”,”name”:”uaetodaynews”,”logo”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”url”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/images-e1759081190269.png”},”sameAs”:[“https://www.facebook.com/uaetodaynewscom”,”https://www.pinterest.com/uaetodaynews/”,”https://www.instagram.com/uaetoday_news_com/”]},”sourceOrganization”:{“@id”:”#Publisher”},”copyrightHolder”:{“@id”:”#Publisher”},”mainEntityOfPage”:{“@type”:”WebPage”,”@id”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/head-start-providers-happy-but-cautious-after-federal-judge-halts-dei-ban-the-74/”,”breadcrumb”:{“@id”:”#Breadcrumb”}},”author”:{“@type”:”Person”,”name”:”uaetodaynews”,”url”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/author/arabsongmedia-net/”},”image”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”url”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/head-start-DEI-825×495.jpg”,”width”:1200,”height”:495}}
Disclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification.
We do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.
Author: uaetodaynews
Published on: 2026-01-13 00:38:00
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