LA City Councilmember Challenges English-Only Head Start Proposal

Los Angeles City Councilmember and mayoral candidate Nithya Raman voiced strong opposition to the Trump administration’s proposed rule that would require all Head Start programs across the United States to conduct education solely in English. This proposed federal regulation, under review by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), seeks significant changes to the federal preschool program.

In a series of posts on the social media platform X, Raman emphasized that the change would move Head Start away from multilingual education, negatively impacting communities such as those in Los Angeles. Here, numerous children enter school speaking a language other than English at home. Currently, California’s Head Start programs accommodate tens of thousands of dual-language learners.

Raman declared her intention to oppose the policy if elected mayor. She asserted, “As mayor, I will fight back against Trump’s plan to gut a program that gives every LA child a strong start.” Raman promised to leverage the mayor’s office to combat the mandate and collaborate with local schools for potential legal challenges to safeguard family rights.

Corey DeAngelis, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, offered a counterpoint. He stated in remarks to Fox News Digital, “Head Start should be sunset. 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 proposed overhaul, announced by HHS in August, demands that education for children be conducted primarily in English. The rule aims to prioritize English instruction for children whose native language is not English. American Indian and Alaska Native programs that use Tribal languages would be exempt.

DeAngelis contends that the policy would equip Head Start students for English-language classes, stating, “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.”

An HHS spokesperson emphasized the initiative’s goal to prepare children for school, aligning Head Start with former President Donald Trump’s executive order that designates English as the official language of the United States. The spokesperson also remarked on the importance of a robust comprehension of English in the children’s educational foundation.

Roxanne Hoge, chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Republican Party, defended the proposed directive. She underscored the government’s interest in making sure children achieve fluency in English, stating, “English is the way Americans communicate with each other, and the government has an interest in everyone becoming proficient in our country’s language.”

She also addressed Raman’s stance, arguing that parents have a broad range of educational options for children to learn various languages spoken in Los Angeles—from Armenian to Hebrew to Spanish—and beyond.

The proposed rule marks a departure from current Head Start regulations that support bilingualism, serving to bolster both English skills and the children’s native languages. Federal estimates suggest approximately one-third of non-Tribal Head Start classrooms might be impacted.

California has received nearly $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2024 funding for Head Start and Early Head Start operations. The state supports 68,126 federally funded enrollment slots in these programs, excluding American Indian, Alaska Native, and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs. Nationally, over 283,000 participants, in the 2024-25 program year, reside in households where languages other than English are predominantly spoken.

Hoge expanded on American taxpayers’ contributions to Head Start, urging community members to adapt to requirements as opposed to making demands.

Fox News Digital reached out to Raman, the White House, and HHS for comment but did not immediately obtain a response. CJ Womack, associate editor at Fox News, contributes articles that highlight journalism’s role in shaping political and cultural narratives. He graduated from Long Beach State University in 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Journalism. News tips can be forwarded to [email protected], and he is available on Twitter.