The Trump administration is asking Congress to a move that would cut early education for more than half a million of the nation鈥檚 neediest children and child care for their families.
The proposal is tucked in a 64-page internal draft budget document obtained by The Associated Press that seeks at the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Head Start. It is still in a highly preliminary phase as the White House prepares to send Congress its budget request for the 2026 fiscal year.
It is not clear if the proposed cuts will be accepted by lawmakers. While Congress often ignores a president鈥檚 budget request, the proposed elimination of Head Start highlights the administration's priorities as President Donald Trump in the United States.
鈥淭he budget does not fund Head Start,鈥� according to the draft. It says eliminating the program is consistent with the Trump administration鈥檚 鈥済oals of returning control of education to the states and increasing parental control.鈥�
鈥淭he federal government should not be in the business of mandating curriculum, locations, and performance standards for any form of education,鈥� the document says.
Spokespeople for Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment.
Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has vowed to , has at schools and has frozen funding at several elite universities in an attempt to that Republicans say have become hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism.
The Head Start program had already been hit this year by layoffs and , along with a glitch this winter that briefly locked preschool providers out of their federal accounts. The private and public schools that run Head Start classrooms are deeply reliant on federal money, and this year's funding problems have caused some
Those closures cut off child care for hundreds of thousands of low-income families, for whom a day without work is .
The National Head Start Association said it was 鈥渄eeply alarmed鈥� by the administration鈥檚 proposal to stop funding the six-decade-old program.
鈥淚t reflects a divestment in our future,鈥� said Yasmina Vinci, executive director of the NHSA, in a statement Thursday. 鈥淓liminating funding for Head Start would be catastrophic. It would be a direct attack on our nation鈥檚 most at-risk children, their well-being, and their families.鈥�
Head Start is , Vinci said. It provides meals and health screenings and helps level the playing field for children who might otherwise fall behind before starting kindergarten. Many Head Start children are in foster care or are homeless.
A lag in funding to Head Start since January has caused some Head Start preschool classrooms to close. The federal government has distributed $1.6 billion for Head Start from Jan. 1 through Tuesday, compared with $2.55 billion issued during the same period last year, according to the office of Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., which has been analyzing a . Murray said the Trump administration had 鈥渟low-walked鈥� funding appropriated by Congress.
鈥淭his administration believes we cannot afford to help families get preschool or help kids get basic health services, but we can afford trillions of dollars more in tax breaks for billionaires,鈥� Murray said earlier this week. 鈥淚t鈥檚 offensive and just plain wrong, and let me be clear: Democrats won鈥檛 let a proposal like this go anywhere in Congress.鈥�
鈥淏ut that doesn鈥檛 mean Head Start and so many other programs aren鈥檛 under grave threat 鈥� because Trump has proven he鈥檒l ignore our laws and do whatever he can to break these programs on his own,鈥� Murray said.
Head Start operates in all 50 states. Parents who otherwise would not be able to afford child care rely on it when they work or go to school. Supporters say that underscores the importance of Head Start to the economy and at-risk children alike.
While Head Start has enjoyed bipartisan support since its creation under President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty, some Republicans have emphasized its shortcomings and criticized efforts to increase funding. And Project 2025, the policy blueprint created by the conservative Heritage Foundation, called for eliminating Head Start altogether.
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AP Education Writers Cheyanne Mumphrey and Moriah Balingit contributed.
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The Associated Press鈥� education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP鈥檚 for working with philanthropies, a of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Jocelyn Gecker, The Associated Press
