Court filings in a lawsuit filed Dec. 5 say the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told some Head Start programs to remove nearly 200 words and phrases from grant applications or risk denial. The list reportedly includes terms such as “accessible,” “belong,” “Black,” “disability,” “female,” “minority,” “trauma,” “tribal” and “women.”
The suit was brought by Head Start programs in Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin and Illinois against HHS and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Plaintiffs contend the administration’s restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts conflict with the Head Start Act, which requires services that are “linguistically and culturally appropriate” and mandates early intervention services for children with disabilities.
HHS declined to comment on the list; Press Secretary Emily G. Hilliard said, “HHS does not comment on ongoing litigation.” Nationally, Head Start serves about 750,000 infants, toddlers and preschool-age children with child care, early learning, meals, health screenings and family support.
The filings include a declaration from the executive director of a Wisconsin Head Start program identified under the pseudonym Mary Roe. Roe says she submitted a routine funding renewal on Sept. 30 and on Nov. 19 received two emails from HHS. One returned her grant application and asked her to “please remove the following words from your application,” listing 19 terms including “Racism,” “Race” and “Racial.” A second email from her assigned HHS program specialist attached a document titled “Words to limit or avoid in government documents” with nearly 200 words and phrases. Both emails are included in the court filing; the specialist’s name was redacted. It is unclear how many other programs received similar guidance.
Roe told the court the instruction created an “impossible situation,” noting many of the listed words appear in the Head Start Act or in standard practices required to serve children effectively. She pointed to the inconsistency of being told to avoid words such as “disability,” “disabilities” and “inclusion” while Head Start is legally required to provide inclusive, accessible services for children with disabilities.
Disability-rights advocates sharply criticized the guidance. Jacqueline Rodriguez of the National Center for Learning Disabilities said, “Banning the word ‘disability’ from Head Start is morally repugnant and a violation of federal law. No administration can claim to support children with disabilities while banning the very word that protects them.”
Court documents also show a Head Start program on a Native American reservation was told to remove application sections needed to prioritize services for tribal members and descendants; the word “tribal” appears on the HHS list.
The administration has described limits on DEI as enforcing merit-based policies. A January executive action said illegal DEI policies “violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws” and undermine national unity. In March, the Office of Head Start emailed grant recipients saying it would not approve funding requests for activities “that promote or take part in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.”
The full declaration is publicly available; the list of words “to limit or avoid” begins on page 31 of the filing.