A proposed federal rule that would require Head Start programs nationwide to conduct all education in English is drawing sharp criticism from a Los Angeles mayoral candidate, as the Department of Health and Human Services considers a sweeping overhaul of the federal preschool program.
Nithya Raman, a Los Angeles City Councilmember and candidate for mayor, said in a thread on X that the change would move Head Start away from multilingual instruction and disproportionately affect communities such as Los Angeles, where many children enter classrooms speaking a language other than English at home. California Head Start programs serve tens of thousands of dual-language learners, and Raman argued the policy would undermine a program that gives children a strong start.
«As mayor, I will fight back against Trump's plan to gut a program that gives every LA child a strong start,» Raman 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.»
The proposal, 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 receive priority for English instruction. Certain American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start programs using Tribal languages would be exempt. Federal officials estimated roughly one-third of non-Tribal Head Start classrooms could be affected by the language change.
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. A spokesperson said Head Start is designed to prepare young children to enter school and that a firm foundation in English is a critical part of that preparation.
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. In California, Head Start Preschool and Early Head Start received nearly $1.5 billion in annual operations funding 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.
Corey DeAngelis, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, responded to Raman's criticism by arguing the debate over language instruction underscored broader problems with the federal program. «Head Start should be sunset,» he said, citing a federal evaluation that found it does not improve student outcomes in any lasting way and costs taxpayers a significant amount. DeAngelis also pushed back on Raman's position, saying the administration's proposal would better prepare Head Start children for English-language classrooms. «English is the language of American schools,» he said. «If the program won't teach it, American families with English-speaking kids pay the price when those classrooms get dumbed down.»
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. «English is the way Americans communicate with each other, and the government has an interest in everyone becoming proficient in our country's language,» Hoge said. She added that parents have a variety of school options for their children to learn other languages spoken in Los Angeles, from Armenian to Hebrew to Spanish, and said Raman should «stop demanding and start adapting.»
The debate comes as the Trump administration continues to reshape federal education and language policies. The proposed Head Start rule is open for public comment, and its final form could affect how millions of federal dollars are spent on early childhood education across the country. For now, the dispute highlights a broader clash over the role of English instruction in federally funded programs and how best to serve a diverse population of young learners.