Attorney General Kathy Jennings joined a suit against the Trump Administration to stop an unlawful attempt to defund Head Start and other education programs in Delaware communities.

“We have never had to fight so hard to defend children—in this case some of Delaware’s most vulnerable—from their own president,” said Attorney General Jennings. “Threatening to defund these critical education programs is illegal – and while Donald Trump may not care about that fact, the Courts certainly do. Every child in our state is my constituent and I will always go to the mat for them. We’ll see you in court.”

“When we let our children down, we put their futures at risk. Delaware’s elected leaders are focused on ensuring every student receives a high-quality early education regardless of their circumstances,” said Governor Matt Meyer. “I fully support Attorney General Jennings’ decision to join this lawsuit and defend Delaware’s youth.”

“For decades, the Head Start program has been one of the few truly bipartisan programs in Washington, DC, because it works,” said Secretary of Education Cindy Marten. “Head Start provides access to opportunities for children and families who might otherwise have no hope of achieving their dreams. On behalf of these young people, I want to express our gratitude for the never-ending fight our Attorney General and our Governor are waging to save our system of education.”

In early July, the Delaware Department of Education became aware that the Trump Administration, through the US Departments of Education and Health and Social Services, issued notices that they were attempting to re-interpret language in the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA).

The U.S. Department of Education’s notice was made in accordance with the Trump Administration’s specious interpretation of PRWORA. The Trump Administration’s interpretation amounted to a chaotic reversal of bipartisan policy for the U.S. Departments of Education, Labor, Justice, and Health & Human Services; it barred safety net programs including Head Start, Meals on Wheels, and community health centers from serving children, seniors, and other individuals who cannot verify immigration status.

Founded in 1965, Head Start is a federally funded program that promotes school readiness in children from birth to age five for eligible families, including families within poverty guidelines, children with disabilities, and those who are homeless or in foster care. It does so by providing resources and support to enhance cognitive, social, and emotional development; Head Start also provides critical childcare for many families.

Young children and their families would lose access to essential services if funding is reduced or terminated. Children would lose educational, nutritional, and healthcare services, suffering long-term consequences, while many parents would be forced to cut spending on other critical needs and may even need to leave the workforce in order to care for their children. These impacts would be particularly harsh in rural Delaware, where many families have limited access to education and childcare services.

Beyond Head Start, the Trump administration’s reckless cuts jeopardize other education services in Delaware, including: adult literacy programs; English language learning programs; and career/technical education programs in community colleges and all public school districts, including vo-tech and charter schools. These career/technical education programs include access to dual-credit programs (e.g., Advance Placement, Dual Enrollment, Articulated Credit, and even some apprenticeship programs) that provide both secondary and postsecondary course credits.

Altogether, the services in Delaware impacted by these cuts comprise more than $11 million in federal grants, support more than 250 education programs, and serve more than 50,000 Delawareans of all ages. These include adult learners, kids in foster care, and children experiencing homelessness.

With today’s amended complaint, Jennings—along with the Governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania—joins an earlier lawsuit filed July 21 by a 20-state coalition. The lawsuit argues that the federal government acted unlawfully by issuing these changes without following required procedures under the Administrative Procedure Act – and that it misapplied PRWORA to entire programs rather than to individual benefits. The changes also violate the Constitution’s Spending Clause by imposing new funding conditions on states without fair notice or consent.

Jennings is asking the court to declare the new rules unlawful, halt their implementation through preliminary and permanent injunctions, vacate the rules and restore the long-standing agency practice, and prevent the federal government from using PRWORA as a pretext to dismantle core safety net programs in the future. On or about July 24, the federal government agreed not to enforce its challenged interpretation of PRWORA against the States until September 10.

In filing suit, Delaware, Kentucky and Pennsylvania join California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

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