Head Start funding lags by nearly $1 billion this year, causing some preschool closures

White House proposes eliminating Head Start funding as part of sweeping budget cuts

While Congress often ignores a president's budget request, the proposed elimination of Head Start highlights the administration's priorities as Trump seeks to overhaul education in the United States.

Wisconsin Head Start programs facing 50% drop in federal funding, possible closures

Wisconsin Head Start programs, which provide early childhood education, may face closures amid funding cuts by the Trump administration.

Hundreds of children affected by sudden Head Start closures in Central Washington - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Arminda Caballero, manager of the center, looks around an empty classroom at the Inspire Development Center Sunnyside II in Sunnyside, Washington. (Credit: Johanna Bejarano / NWPB) Listen https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Final-Central-WA-Head-Start.wav(Runtime 1:27) Read Stacked chairs, empty classrooms and educational materials piled on shelves. That is the scene left at Inspir…

Jazlyn Villafane, a student at Springfield Technical Community College, is gaining practical experience in the Head Start program at Holyoke, Chicopee, Springfield (HCS), observing and working with children as part of her quest to obtain a certificate in early childhood education. As the first STCC student to attend the newly opened HCS Head Start campus, Villafane, 37, reinforces the strong collaboration between STCC and the federal early educa…

Child-focused nonprofits and programs feel impact of federal funding cuts

ExplorationWorks, Rocky Mountain Development Council's Head Start, and Montana Learning Center (MLC) are preparing to make changes after getting news of federal funding cuts or not knowing if that money will come in."The collateral damage of these decisions that are being made in Washington D.C. on the federal level are the children in our community," said Sara Feilzer, program director at ExplorationWorks. The Institute of Museum and Library Se…

Head Start funding lags by nearly $1B this year, causing some preschool closures

Head Start centers across the U.S. have received nearly $1 billion less in federal money compared with this time last year — and a lag in funding this week has caused some preschool classrooms for low-income children 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., wh…