{"id":219500,"date":"2026-01-07T08:55:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T13:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/?post_type=press_release&#038;p=219500"},"modified":"2026-01-07T11:08:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:08:20","slug":"federal-judge-grants-second-preliminary-injunction-blocking-attacks-on-head-start","status":"publish","type":"press_release","link":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/federal-judge-grants-second-preliminary-injunction-blocking-attacks-on-head-start","title":{"rendered":"Federal Judge Grants Second Preliminary Injunction Blocking Attacks on Head Start"},"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-219500","press_release","type-press_release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"subheading":"","date_and_time":"2026-01-07 08:53:05","featured_image":"","show_on_press_releases_landing_page":true,"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"SEATTLE \u2013 A federal judge granted a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/documents\/preliminary-injunction-order-in-washington-state-association-of-head-start-and-early-childhood-assistance-and-education-program-et-al-v-robert-f-kennedy-et-al-2\">preliminary injunction<\/a> blocking the Trump administration\u2019s attacks on Head Start, halting the Department of Health and Human Services\u2019 (HHS) ban on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, as well as mass office closures and layoffs at the Office of Head Start. These administrative actions had disrupted programs nationwide and hindered their ability to fulfil their mission of providing early education and care to young children from low-income families.\r\n\r\n\u201cThis is a huge victory for kids!\u201d said <strong>Joel Ryan, executive director of the Washington State Head Start &amp; Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program<\/strong>. \u201cWhen a Head Start program has their funding withheld because of their efforts to provide effective education to children with autism, serve tribal members on a reservation, or treat all families with respect, it is an attack on the fundamental promise of the Head Start program \u2013 that even children who are furthest away from opportunity should be given the early education they need to succeed in school. Today\u2019s decision puts a stop to this attack and allows us to focus on what matters most \u2013 supporting children and families.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe ruling follows a previous preliminary injunction, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/federal-court-halts-trump-administrations-unlawful-attacks-on-head-start-families\">blocked<\/a> a directive from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to shut out some immigrant families from participating in Head Start based on their immigration status.\r\n\r\nIn April, the American Civil Liberties Union\u2019s Women\u2019s Rights Project, the ACLU of Washington, the ACLU of Illinois, the Impact Fund and co-counsel filed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/cases\/washington-state-association-of-head-start-and-early-childhood-assistance-and-education-program-et-al-robert-f-kennedy-et-al\">lawsuit<\/a> on behalf of Parent Voices Oakland, Family Forward Oregon, and the Head Start Associations of Washington state, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The lawsuit asks the court to stop the administration from gutting Head Start, enforcing its unconstitutional ban on programs that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, and shutting out families and children from Head Start based on immigration status.\r\n\r\nBelow are statements from plaintiffs and litigators:\r\n\r\n\u201cNo matter who they are or where they\u2019re from, kids deserve the chance to succeed. Today\u2019s decision ensures that Head Start providers can provide early education to children from diverse communities and backgrounds without the constant threat of being punished simply for following the requirements of the law,\u201d said <strong>Jennie Mauer, executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association.<\/strong> \u201cNo provider should fear being shut down for providing disability-related services or language access \u2013 and no child should be deprived of critical services because of an unlawful and cruel directive.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cHead Start is essential to hundreds of thousands of low-income parents and caregivers being able to work, get an education, and provide for themselves and their families,\u201d said <strong>Isabelle Mussard, interim executive director for Parent Voices Oakland. <\/strong>\u201cThe Head Start Act\u2019s requirement to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services means that <em>all <\/em>parents can be involved and engaged in their children\u2019s learning. We are thrilled that today\u2019s decision stops the administration from denying entire communities access to Head Start.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cHead Start providers work tirelessly each day to foster inclusive and supportive classrooms where every child \u2013 no matter their background \u2013 can learn, grow, and get ready for school. This decision makes clear that the Trump administration cannot continue its unlawful attacks on Head Start at the expense of children and families who rely on it most,\u201d <strong>said Linda Morris, senior staff attorney at the ACLU\u2019s Women\u2019s Rights Project.<\/strong> \u201cWe will continue to fight for every Head Start family to ensure they have access to the education and care they need.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThis injunction protects access to education and opportunity for the most marginalized communities across the country,\u201d said <strong>Brent Low, staff attorney at the ACLU of Washington<\/strong>. \u201cIt allows Head Start to continue its critical mission to serve young children and their families through programs that respond to the needs of the communities they serve.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThe vision of the Head Start Program \u2013 and the text of the legislation passed by Congress to authorize the program \u2013 specifically called on local programs to serve their entire community,\u201d said<strong> Allison Siebeneck, director of the Women\u2019s and Reproductive Rights Project at the ACLU of Illinois.<\/strong> \u201cCongress has consistently voted to fund programs that advance equity, inclusion and accessibility to educational opportunities for people from diverse communities. The injunction issued in this case simply says that the Administration cannot wipe away this promise and specific text with their edicts.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cCongress established the Head Start program to ensure that every child has access to education during this crucial time in their lives,\u201d <strong>said Lori Rifkin, litigation director at the Impact Fund.<\/strong>\u202f\u201cIn striking down these illegal actions by the Trump Administration, the Court upheld the rule of law and protected the ability of Head Start agencies to effectively provide services to hundreds of thousands of children across the country.\u201d\r\n\r\nYou can find the ruling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/documents\/preliminary-injunction-order-in-washington-state-association-of-head-start-and-early-childhood-assistance-and-education-program-et-al-v-robert-f-kennedy-et-al-2\">here<\/a>."}}],"drupal_node_id":"","email":"media@aclu.org","phone":"(212) 549-2666","address":{"address_1":"125 Broad Street","address_2":"18th Floor","city":"New York","state":"NY","zip_code":10004,"country":"United States"},"pgp_public_key":"","issues":[46811],"press_releases_related_to_cases":[208640],"spokesperson":[2406],"related_affiliates":[334,346],"related_content_documents":[219491],"related_content_publications":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>American Civil Liberties Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Federal Judge Grants Second Preliminary Injunction Blocking Attacks on Head Start | American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/federal-judge-grants-second-preliminary-injunction-blocking-attacks-on-head-start\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-07T16:08:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@aclu\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/federal-judge-grants-second-preliminary-injunction-blocking-attacks-on-head-start\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/federal-judge-grants-second-preliminary-injunction-blocking-attacks-on-head-start\",\"name\":\"Federal Judge Grants Second Preliminary Injunction Blocking Attacks on Head Start | American Civil Liberties Union\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-07T13:55:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-07T16:08:20+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/federal-judge-grants-second-preliminary-injunction-blocking-attacks-on-head-start\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/\",\"name\":\"American Civil Liberties Union\",\"description\":\"The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union \u2014 beyond one person, party, or side. Our mission is to realize this promise of the United States Constitution for all and expand the reach of its guarantees.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"American Civil Liberties Union","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Federal Judge Grants Second Preliminary Injunction Blocking Attacks on Head Start | American Civil Liberties Union","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/federal-judge-grants-second-preliminary-injunction-blocking-attacks-on-head-start","og_site_name":"American Civil Liberties Union","article_modified_time":"2026-01-07T16:08:20+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@aclu","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/federal-judge-grants-second-preliminary-injunction-blocking-attacks-on-head-start","url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/federal-judge-grants-second-preliminary-injunction-blocking-attacks-on-head-start","name":"Federal Judge Grants Second Preliminary Injunction Blocking Attacks on Head Start | American Civil Liberties Union","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-01-07T13:55:29+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-07T16:08:20+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/federal-judge-grants-second-preliminary-injunction-blocking-attacks-on-head-start"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/","name":"American Civil Liberties Union","description":"The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union \u2014 beyond one person, party, or side. 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