Judge temporarily blocks removal of DEI-related language from Head Start applications

A federal judge has temporarily barred the Department of Health and Human Services from removing words tied to diversity, equity and inclusion from Head Start grant applications and from laying off more Office of Head Start staff. The order arises from a lawsuit challenging the administration's changes to Head Start; further court steps are undetermined at this time.

A federal judge in Seattle has issued a temporary order stopping the Department of Health and Human Services from removing language it associates with diversity, equity and inclusion from Head Start grant applications and from laying off additional staff in the Office of Head Start. The order was entered in a lawsuit filed in April that challenges the administration's actions affecting Head Start, including office closures, staff reductions and guidance on grant language. Plaintiff groups say officials told a local Head Start director to remove terms such as "race," "belonging" and "pregnant people," and later provided a list of nearly 200 discouraged words. Head Start is a decades-old federal early education and family support program that serves hundreds of thousands of children from low-income households and is run locally by nonprofits, schools and governments. Key facts: - The judge's order temporarily bars HHS from purging DEI-related words from Head Start grant applications and from making further staff cuts in the Office of Head Start. - The lawsuit, filed in April, names Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other officials and challenges several administrative changes to Head Start. - Plaintiff organizations reported that department officials advised a Head Start director to remove specific terms and later shared a longer list of discouraged words. - Head Start was created about six decades ago as part of the War on Poverty and is federally funded but locally operated to serve children from low-income and unstable living situations. Summary: The court order pauses the department's stated changes to grant language and the planned additional layoffs while litigation continues. Undetermined at this time.