Undoing Head Start

The Trump regime's assault on Head Start doesn't get the attention it should. This AP story from a few days ago and this update describe the latest assault.

Essentially, they plan to remove federal requirements, leaving the definition of what the federally mandated program called "Head Start" is up to individual states. So in Minnesota, for instance, that could mean child/staff ratios similar to what exist now, while in Mississippi the ratios would be... I hate to guess. And curriculum could be whatever tripe Republicans decide it should be.

According to the second story, programs would be limited to 5% in administrative expenses, instead of the current 15%. Anyone familiar with nonprofit organizations knows that is untenable. Plus, while they're taking away real family supports for health and wellness, which are essential to families in poverty, RFK Jr. gets to add his brand of "nutrition requirements." 

Quoting that first AP story,

Jody Smith, a lead Head Start teacher south of Seattle, said she’s seen firsthand how critical many of the requirements are, especially the ones for engaging with families and screening kids for disabilities. Smith was a high school dropout when she enrolled her first child in Head Start, where she was encouraged to go back to school and inspired to become a teacher. Later, Head Start helped diagnose her youngest child with autism.

Without Head Start, “I would have probably stayed as a poverty line,” Smith said. “And I don’t know that we would have gotten as far in life as we have.”

And:

Earlier this year, Trump officials also erased a Biden-era rule that mandated raises and greater benefits for Head Start employees. When the rule went in to effect in 2024, Head Start teachers, the majority of whom have bachelor’s degrees, earned less than $40,000 a year on average.

So the teachers are already earning well below their worth and educational attainment, and Trump will make sure that continues to degrade. 

This is in keeping with the regime's reclassification of many professions — including nurses, nurse-practioners, and physician assistants — as nonprofessional when it comes to graduate programs. (Theology and chiropractic graduate degrees are still considered professional, however.)

Just another part of the degradation of American infrastructure that barely gets noticed in the midst of Trump's constant conflagration.