menu_open Columnists
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Head Start faces new worries about its future with Trump, GOP

7 11
27.07.2025

Supporters of Head Start are worried about the program’s future as it faces Trump administration calls for budgetary cuts ahead of the next school year.

The free, federally funded program for low-income families provides education for infants through preschoolers and had enjoyed bipartisan support for most of its 60-year history.

But worries are mounting for both Head Start staff and parents.

The Project 2025 blueprint calling for deep federal cuts proposed Head Start’s elimination, and while calls to cut its budget have diminished, advocates don’t feel the program is safe.

The administration also is looking at enrollment changes that could impact students lacking permanent legal status who are covered by Head Start.

“A lot of people have called this death by a thousand cuts, what we've seen in the past six months,” said Casey Peeks, senior director of Early Childhood Policy at the Center for American Progress.

Head Start seemed to escape the worst possible fate after a report earlier this year by USA Today that said the White House was ready to adopt the Project 2025 blueprint and eliminate it.

Despite the fears, President Trump’s final proposal didn’t include an increase or decrease in Head Start funding. It kept the program at the same funding level as last year.

Other early preschool programs, Preschool Development Grants and the Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools,........

© The Hill