WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) joined Senate colleagues in a letter calling out the Trump Administration’s direct attacks on Head Start, reminding Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of his legal obligation to administer the program, and demanding the Department of Health and Human Services immediately release Head Start funding and reverse the mass firing of Head Start staff and gutting of its offices.
Head Start is a federally funded early education program that provides no-cost educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services to more than half a million children, including thousands of Nevada children. Last week, Senator Rosen visited a local Head Start classroom in Carson City, Nevada – where she reaffirmed her commitment to this early childhood education program.
“We write to express our strong opposition to the actions you have taken to directly attack and undermine the federal Head Start program. Since day one, this Administration has taken unacceptable actions to withhold and delay funding, fire Head Start staff, and gut high-quality services for children,” wrote the Senators. “Already this year, this Administration has withheld almost $1 billion in federal grant funding from Head Start programs, a 37 percent decrease compared to the amount of funding awarded during the same period last year. It is abundantly clear that these actions are part of a broader effort to ultimately eliminate the program altogether, as the Administration reportedly plans to do in its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal.”
“The Administration has a legal and moral obligation to disburse Head Start funds to programs and to uphold the program’s promise to provide high-quality early education services to low income children and families across this country. There is no justifiable reason for the delay in funding we have seen over the last two months, and you have refused to offer any kind of explanation,” the Senators’ letter continued. “[W]e urge you to immediately reinstate fired staff across all Offices of Head Start, and cease all actions to delay the awarding and disbursement of funding to Head Start programs across this country.”
The full letter can be found HERE.
Studies have shown that high-quality early childhood education programs, like Head Start, contribute to success later in life. According to the National Head Start Association, children who participate in the Head Start program are more likely to meet key educational benchmarks, have been shown to perform considerably better on cognitive and social-emotional measures, exhibit fewer attention problems, and display fewer negative behaviors. Head Start children also have a higher likelihood of graduating from high school, attending college, and receiving a post-secondary degree, license, or certification.
Senator Rosen has been a strong advocate for the Head Start program, repeatedly pushing for additional funding to ensure that early education programs can continue serving Nevada families. Earlier this week, she criticized the Trump Administration’s budget proposal, which would eliminate all funding for Head Start. Senator Rosen has also actively worked to reduce costs and expand access to child care for Nevadans. Earlier this year, she introduced the bipartisan Small Business Child Care Investment Act, which allows non-profit child care providers that otherwise qualify as small businesses to access larger and more flexible loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, and it passed out of committee.
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