Trump admin’s proposed ‘English-only’ Head Start rule draws fire from Los Angeles mayoral candidate

Los Angeles City Councilmember and mayoral candidate Nithya Raman criticized the Trump administration Tuesday over a proposed federal rule that would require Head Start programs nationwide to conduct all education in English, taking aim at the policy as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) considers a sweeping overhaul of the federal preschool program.

Raman said in an X thread that the proposed change would move Head Start away from multilingual instruction and disproportionately affect communities such as Los Angeles, where large numbers of children enter classrooms speaking a language other than English at home. The proposal comes as California Head Start programs serve tens of thousands of dual-language learners.

"As mayor, I will fight back against Trump’s plan to gut a program that gives every LA child a strong start," she said. "I'll bring the full weight of the mayor's office to fight this cruel mandate and work with our school district to call for a joint lawsuit if needed to protect our families' rights."

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Corey DeAngelis, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, responded to Raman’s criticism in a statement to Fox News Digital, arguing the debate over language instruction underscored broader problems with the federal program.

"Head Start should be sunset," he said. "The gold-standard federal evaluation found it does not improve student outcomes in any lasting way, and it costs taxpayers a ton of money."

The Trump administration's proposed Head Start overhaul, announced by HHS in August, would require programs to "conduct all education to children in English." Children whose native language is not English and who do not speak English would have to receive priority for English instruction. Certain American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start programs using Tribal languages would be exempt.

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DeAngelis pushed back on Raman's criticism, arguing the administration's proposal would better prepare Head Start children for English-language classrooms.

"Nithya Raman is attacking the Trump administration for requiring Head Start to teach English," he said. "English is the language of American schools. If the program won’t teach it, American families with English-speaking kids pay the price when those classrooms get dumbed down."

HHS said the change is intended to prepare children for school and align Head Start with President Donald Trump's executive order designating English as the official language of the United States. An HHS spokesperson said Head Start is designed to prepare children to enter school and described a strong foundation in English as an important part of that preparation.

"Head Start is designed to prepare young children to be ready to enter school, and providing a firm foundation in the English language is a critical part of that preparation," an HHS spokesperson told The Los Angeles Times.

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The proposed rule represents a reversal from existing Head Start regulations that call on programs to support both English acquisition and children’s home languages. Federal officials estimated roughly one-third of non-Tribal Head Start classrooms could be affected by the language change.

California received nearly $1.5 billion in annual operations funding for Head Start Preschool and Early Head Start in fiscal year 2024, according to the federal Office of Head Start. The state had 68,126 federally funded enrollment slots across those two programs, excluding American Indian and Alaska Native and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs. Nationally, Office of Head Start data for the 2024-25 program year show more than 283,000 participants either lived in households where a language other than English was primarily spoken or were learning another language in addition to English.

Roxanne Hoge, chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Republican Party, also criticized Raman’s opposition to the proposed English-language requirement, arguing the federal government has an interest in ensuring children receiving taxpayer-funded Head Start services become proficient in English.

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"I find it fascinating that Nithya Raman is making demands of a gift bestowed by American taxpayers," she said. "English is the way Americans communicate with each other, and the government has an interest in everyone becoming proficient in our country's language."

"Parents can and do have a variety of school options for their children to learn the plethora of languages we speak in LA — from Armenian to Hebrew to Spanish and beyond. Stop demanding and start adapting. I am a mother of four and also an immigrant, since she thinks that's relevant."

Fox News Digital reached out to Raman, the White House and HHS for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.