Head Start

An aerial view of a maze made up of 100 dollar bills with two clay figures. One looks like Trump with blond hair and in a blue suit with a red tie and he's waving to another white business man in a suit walking away from him.
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Education Funding The Big Questions About Trump's K-12 Budget Proposal, Answered
Trump is proposing to cut billions of dollars in K-12 investments, consolidate grant programs, and potentially rejigger special education law.
Mark Lieberman, May 5, 2025
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13 min read
A student participates in a reading and writing lesson at the Head Start program at Easterseals South Florida, Jan. 29, 2025, in Miami.
A student participates in a reading and writing lesson at the Head Start program at Easterseals South Florida in Miami on Jan. 29, 2025. The organization gets about a third of its funding from the federal government. Supporters of President Donald Trump's plan to cut Head Start say it's ineffective. Advocates say they are oversimplifying key research.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Early Childhood Trump Allies Say the Case for Head Start Is Weak. Researchers Say They're Wrong
Head Start critics oversimplify research to justify calls for its closure, researchers said.
Evie Blad, May 1, 2025
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9 min read
Willow Palmer, 5, at right, comforts classmate River Yang, 3, as he sits in the safe place nook at the Meadow Lakes CCS Early Learning, a Head Start center, May 6, 2024, in Wasilla, Alaska.
Willow Palmer, 5, at right, comforts classmate River Yang, 3, as he sits in the safe place nook at the Meadow Lakes CCS Early Learning, a Head Start center, on May 6, 2024 in Wasilla, Alaska. Since the start of the Trump administration, Head Start programs have had difficulty accessing their funding and have lost many of the federal contacts they worked with due to layoffs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Now, they're anticipating a budget proposal from the White House that eliminates funding for the early childhood program.
Lindsey Wasson/AP
Education Funding Trump Wants to Gut Head Start. He's Already Begun
More than 800,000 students would lose access to early childhood education if Trump's draft budget proposal is enacted.
Mark Lieberman, April 28, 2025
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11 min read
A child's block toy school house is partly disassembled. Field of loose blocks in the foreground. Representing losing Head Start programs.
iStock/Getty Images + Education Week
Early Childhood Opinion The Trump Administration Is Sabotaging Head Start
Early-childhood education is being dismantled right in front of us. The quiet crisis comes with a heavy cost.
Yolanda Wiggins, April 24, 2025
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5 min read
Two 5 year old children sitting at a table in preschool playing with colorful toys. The boy is connecting flexible tubes, and his friend, a girl, is wearing a crown made of tubes her head.
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Education Funding Dozens of Head Start Programs Still Aren't Receiving Promised Federal Funds
Some providers of pre-K and child care have waited more than a week for federal reimbursements that typically arrive in 24 hours.
Mark Lieberman, February 5, 2025
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11 min read
Preschool teacher with kids sitting nearby while she reads a book.
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Early Childhood Head Start Teachers Will Earn More—But Programs Might Have to Serve Fewer Kids
A new federal rule will raise wages for Head Start employees—but providers won't get any additional funding.
Mark Lieberman, August 22, 2024
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7 min read
A multi-ethnic group of preschool students is sitting with their legs crossed on the floor in their classroom. The mixed-race female teacher is sitting on the floor facing the children. The happy kids are smiling and following the teacher's instructions. They have their arms raised in the air.
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Early Childhood As Head Start Quality Push Continues, Advocates Raise Red Flag on Equity
Inadequate federal funding forces Head Start providers to choose between quality and quantity, a new report contends.
Evie Blad, December 1, 2022
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2 min read
The Supreme Court shown Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, in Washington. The Supreme Court is taking up two major Biden administration efforts to bump up the nation's vaccination rate against COVID-19 at a time of spiking coronavirus cases because of the omicron variant.
The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing two Biden administration efforts to bump up the nation's vaccination rate against COVID-19.
Evan Vucci/AP
Law & Courts High Court Appears Skeptical of Vaccine Mandate Covering Schools in Over Half the States
The Biden administration's OSHA rule applies to private employers with 100 or more workers, as well as school districts in 26 states.
Mark Walsh, January 7, 2022
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4 min read
COVID face masks and gavel
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Law & Courts Federal Judge Blocks Biden's COVID Vaccine Mandate for Head Start Teachers
In a challenge by 24 states, the judge's preliminary injunction also blocks a mask mandate for Head Start students age 2 or older.
Mark Walsh, January 2, 2022
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4 min read
Early Childhood Federal Watchdog Finds Risk of Head Start Fraud, Ranking Republican Seeks Hearing
Officials have not done enough to prevent fraud in Head Start programs, the GAO said. The findings prompted Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the ranking member of the House education and labor committee, to call for a hearing on the federally funded preschool program for low-income children.
Evie Blad, October 2, 2019
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3 min read
Early Childhood Head Start Wants to Back Off Its Mandate to Lengthen Operating Hours
The federally funded preschool program for children from low-income families proposes ending a requirement that all center-based programs offer 1,020 hours of service per school year.
Christina A. Samuels, April 23, 2019
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2 min read
Early Childhood New Reports Tout Role of Gathering Data in Creating Effective Head Start Programs
Bellwether Education Partners highlights five Head Starts programs and says that the very best are serious about data collection and use what they learn from it to improve their practices.
Marva Hinton, March 25, 2019
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3 min read
Early Childhood 'Father of Head Start' Edward F. Zigler Dies at 88
Zigler was the last surviving member of the committee that developed the federal Head Start program, part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty.
Christina A. Samuels, February 10, 2019
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2 min read
Early Childhood Practicing Kindergarten: How a Summer Program Eases Kids Into Learning
The start of kindergarten can be overwhelming for students, and for their parents. In Portland, Ore., a summer program is working to ease that transition.
Lisa Stark, August 15, 2018
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1 min read
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