The future of Head Start is in doubt

This is part one of a two-part story.

In a colorful classroom at Edmonds College’s Head Start preschool in Lynnwood, kids finish breakfast and sit in a circle, watching their teacher expectantly. Today’s lesson is about working animals. The 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds excitedly call out jobs animals can have, beaming as their teacher encourages their ideas.

Photos of students with their families cover the wall in one corner of the room. For the kids, this preschool is a place to make friends and learn. For their families, it’s a lifeline.

While most early learning centers come with a high price tag, Head Start preschools are free. The federal program provides full- and half-day programs for children living in poverty, foster care, or those who are homeless. Kids get a safe place to learn and grow; parents get support, resources, and the ability to work knowing their children are well taken care of. 

“Head Start believes a child is not just what they learn in the classroom. It's their whole family as a unit,” said Lizz Bias, regional education manager for the Head Start program, which offers parenting classes, job training, and continuing education opportunities for parents of enrolled students. 

More than 15,000 kids and babies in Washington state are enrolled in Head Start programs. Over 400 of them are in Snohomish County, according to the state’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Edmonds College operates the only Head Start program in the county, and runs multiple centers, along with home-based care, as part of the Early Head Start program for infants to age 3 and pregnant moms.

President Lyndon Johnson created Head Start in 1965. It enjoyed continued bipartisan support in the decades since. Sixty years in, the future of the stalwart federal program is less certain. At the same time, the nationwide child care crisis is worsening, and Washington state is falling behind in its efforts to address it. 

“There’s no question we have an access and an affordability problem across the country, but specifically here in our region and in Snohomish County that we’ve got to address,” state Sen. Marko Liias (D-Edmonds) said.

A 2024 study by Child Care Aware of Washington found that 40% of Washington parents quit their jobs or were fired because of child care problems, resulting in billions of dollars lost for families, employees, and tax revenue.

Child care is a priority issue for Washington voters across party and regional lines, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have made efforts to address high costs and limited access. During his gubernatorial campaign, Gov. Bob Ferguson pledged to fix the child care affordability crisis. 

But Liias said families shouldn’t expect to see much improvement over the next few years. The state, facing a massive budget shortfall, made cuts to programs this year. Liias said diminished federal support under the current presidential administration will stall progress further. 

Federal changes

President Donald Trump targeted Head Start as part of sweeping federal funding cuts and DEI bans. Washington state early-learning advocates are suing the administration over what they say are illegal attacks on Head Start, most recently the announcement that undocumented children are no longer eligible.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., put out a notice on July 10 that Head Start would no longer serve immigrant children without full legal status. 

State Rep. Strom Peterson (D-Edmonds) said the change is not just cruel, but short-sighted because it will push people out of the workforce and create challenges for early learning providers.

Sen. Liias said it is “evil” to punish young children for a choice they did not make. “Little kids are entitled to safe care,” he said.

Liias also criticized the Trump administration for targeting immigrant parents “that are at work trying to build a better life and make sure their kids are being taken care of” rather than violent criminals the president said his immigration policies would target.