Head Start survives Trump administration budget proposal

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration apparently has backed away from a proposal to eliminate funding for Head Start, the early education program that serves some of the nation’s neediest preschoolers.

Backers of the six-decade-old program, which educates more than half a million children from low-income and homeless families, had been fretting after a leaked Trump administration proposal suggested defunding it. Project 2025, the conservative blueprint drawn up by the Heritage Foundation and co-authored by President Donald Trump’s current budget chief, also called for cutting Head Start.

But the budget summary released Friday, which outlined programs set to receive drastic cuts or boosts, did not mention Head Start. On a call with reporters, an administration official said there would be “no changes” to it. The official insisted on anonymity to preview the budget plan on a call with reporters.

Still, teachers, families and advocates remain concerned about the stability of Head Start. The Trump administration is closing several regional offices and laying off the staff who support the program, which has led to funding delays that threatened to close individual preschools. A document accidentally emailed to grant recipients this week called for eliminating funding for research on Head Start and other child care programs. And before Trump took office, staffing shortages and rising costs had forced some programs to cut the number of students they served, or shutter altogether.

Advocates say other cuts to education and social-safety-net programs would also hurt families served by Head Start.

“While Head Start is grateful that it was not explicitly eliminated in this skinny budget proposal, we are concerned about the significant cuts that threaten access to health services, education, and support for hundreds of thousands of families,” said Yasmina Vinci, executive director for the National Head Start Association, in a statement.

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