Some Head Start programs have been instructed by the federal government to remove nearly 200 words and phrases from their funding applications or risk denial, according to recent court filings. The list includes terms such as “accessible,” “belong,” “Black,” “disability,” “female,” “minority,” “trauma,” “tribal” and “women.”
The list was filed on Dec. 5 as part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by Head Start programs in states including Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin and Illinois against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The lawsuit contends that the administration’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in federal programs conflicts with Head Start’s statutory duties, which require providing “linguistically and culturally appropriate” services and early intervention services for children with disabilities.
HHS declined to comment on the documents, with HHS Press Secretary Emily G. Hilliard saying, “HHS does not comment on ongoing litigation.”
Head Start serves about 750,000 infants, toddlers and preschoolers nationwide, offering early learning, childcare, meals, health screenings and family support.
Court materials include a declaration from the executive director of a Wisconsin Head Start program that has received federal funding for more than 50 years. Identified by the pseudonym Mary Roe, the director said she submitted a routine funding renewal on Sept. 30 and then received two emails from HHS on Nov. 19. The first noted that her grant application was being returned and asked her to “please remove the following words from your application,” attaching a shorter list of 19 words that included “Racism,” “Race” and “Racial.”
Shortly after, Roe said, a program specialist at HHS emailed to follow up and provided a “complete list of words to make sure are not in your applications.” That attachment, titled “Words to limit or avoid in government documents,” contained nearly 200 entries. Both emails were included in the lawsuit; the specialist’s name was redacted. It is not clear how many other Head Start grantees received similar guidance.
Roe said being told to avoid many of those words put her in an “impossible situation,” because the Head Start Act itself uses several of the same terms. She pointed to a contradiction in that Head Start is responsible for creating inclusive, accessible classrooms for children with disabilities, yet she was advised to avoid the words “disability,” “disabilities” and “inclusion” in her application. Roe expressed concern that complying with the word restrictions might appease the administration but violate existing law.
Disability-rights advocates criticized the guidance, noting that many Head Start programs also receive funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to identify and support young children with disabilities. “Banning the word ‘disability’ from Head Start is morally repugnant and a violation of federal law,” said Jacqueline Rodriguez of the National Center for Learning Disabilities. “No administration can claim to support children with disabilities while banning the very word that protects them.”
Other court filings show a Head Start program on a Native American reservation was instructed to remove sections needed to prioritize services for tribal members and descendants, even though federal law allows such prioritization. The word “tribal” appears on the list of words to limit or avoid.
The administration has taken other steps restricting DEI. A January executive action criticized “illegal DEI and DEIA policies” and framed them as contrary to federal civil-rights laws and American values. In March, the Office of Head Start emailed all grant recipients saying it would no longer approve funding requests for activities “that promote or take part in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.”
The lawsuit and its attached declaration make the disputed list public. The full declaration is available in the court filings; the list of words “to limit or avoid” begins on page 31.