HEAD START
ADVOCATES: BUSH ADMINISTRATION IS USING“
SCARE TACTICS” TO SILENCE CRITICS OF DISMANTLING HEAD
START
National Rally Attendees Protest Attempt
to “Chill” Free Speech;
NHSA to Seek Legal Action if No Clarification is Forthcoming
by Next Week.
NEW YORK CITY ///May 28, 2003/// In an unprecedented attempt
to stifle the free speech rights of Head Start staff, parents
and volunteers, the Bush Administration has sent a letter
to all Head Start programs in the U.S. in which it appears
to create a “new and broad” interpretation of
the Head Start Act to threaten local Head Start programs
with legal action if they speak out against proposals to
dismantle the program. National Head Start Association (NHSA)
Chairman Ron Herndon revealed the recent attack on the First
Amendment right of Head Start educators and parents during
a rally attended by thousands here in Bryant Park as part
of the NHSA 30th annual training conference.
In conjunction with the New York City rally, NHSA today
released the text of a May 8, 2003 “dear colleague” letter
sent to all local and state Head Start organizations by Windy
Hill, associate commissioner, Head Start Bureau, U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services. The
Association also made available the responding letter sent
on May 27, 2003 by NHSA President
Sarah Greene. Both documents are available to reporters and
the general public at http://www.saveheadstart.org/understand.html.
Herndon said that NHSA had asked Bush Administration officials
to clarify or withdraw the May 8th Windy Hill letter by Tuesday,
June 3, 2003. In the absence of such action, the Association
will seek legal redress to remedy the attack on the First
Amendment rights of individuals involved with the Head Start
program, according to Herndon.
At the national rally, Herndon said: “Head Start has
been around for 38 years and no previous Administration has
ever seen fit to twist and contort the federal laws in order
to justify what appears to be an unconstitutional attempt
to silence the critics of its proposal. These scare tactics
are designed to achieve one thing and one thing only: to
intimidate into silence the very people who know the best
about what Head Start does and what it takes to make sure
that America’s most at-risk children are made ready
to learn in school.”
Herndon said: “I am appalled and saddened
that this Administration would resort to these methods
to try to avoid
a full and open debate about its plan, as embodied in the
House legislation introduced last week, to dismantle Head
Start and turn its funding over to the cash-strapped states
that are manifestly unprepared to do our work. I fear that
this is exactly what it appears to be: an open-and-shut case
of the Administration seeking to chill the First Amendment
free-speech rights of Head Start educators, volunteer parents
and program administrators through a new and broad interpretation
of the Head Start Act.”
Herndon said that the NHSA is currently contemplating a
legal challenge to the effort to intimidate Head Start advocates
into silence. In its May 27th letter, the Association asked
for a response from the Bush Administration by this Tuesday,
June 3rd.
Herndon said: “I will be the first person to congratulate the Administration
for stepping forward to clarify this matter and put this attack on free speech
to rest. But let’s cut the malarkey here. We know from 38 years of interpretation
of federal law exactly what is permitted and what is not permitted. No one
has spent federal money to speak out against the attack on Head Start and no
one is going to do so.” In the May 25, 2003 NHSA response to Windy Hill, NHSA President
Sarah Greene states: “I am writing to you in regard
to the letter that you sent to all Head Start programs on
May 8, 2003, in which you refer to an advocacy group (presumably
NHSA) and accuse that group of ‘encourag[ing] Head
Start programs to use Head Start program funds and/or staff
in a manner that is in direct violation of the laws that
govern [their] political activities.’ … After
receiving many distress calls about your letter from numerous
Head Start programs, I have ample reason to believe the letter’s
references to legal requirements such as the Hatch Act and
its vague accusation of impropriety have had the effect of
chilling the exercise of free expression by Head Start programs
and their representatives -- staff, parents and board members …”
The Greene letter continues: “It is and always has
been NHSA’s understanding that expression of views
on legislation (under consideration or already enacted) is
protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution and
that there is no ‘restriction or limitation’ (using
the terms from your letter) on a Head Start program or its
staff, parents, or board members from expressing views on
legislation to Members of Congress (or their staffs), to
the Press, or to others in their communities provided they
do not use federal funds in expressing those views the process …”
The NHSA letter concludes as follows: “… Considering
the Constitutional implications of restricting the free expression
of views on legislation, we cannot imagine that you disagree
with our position that the only applicable restriction is
on the use of federal funds. However, considering the concerns
your letter has raised, a statement to that effect now is
needed to assure Head Start agencies that they may freely
express their views about the changes to Head Start legislation
that have been, or may be, advanced during the reauthorization
process.”
Last week, the Association warned that a House bill introduced
on May 22, 2003 to dismantle Head Start would cause serious
damage to the program by turning it over to states, of which
only three have any track record with providing Head Start’s
comprehensive services. An April 16, 2003 report issued by
NHSA concludes that, far from "improving" Head
Start, such proposals would make a "dead end" of
Head Start in five years or less, due, in part, to the plan's
reliance on budget-deficit crippled states that currently
are slashing funds for early childhood development and education.
The April 16th report was released as part of a coordinated
national and local “Save Head Start” campaign
in which scores of local Head Start organizations participated.
ABOUT NHSA
The National Head Start Association is a private not-for-profit
membership organization dedicated exclusively to meeting
the needs of Head Start children and their families. The
Association provides support for the entire Head Start family
by advocating for policies that provide high-quality services
to children and their families; by providing extensive training
and professional development services to all Head Start staff;
and by developing and disseminating research, information,
and resources that impact Head Start program delivery. NHSA
represents more than 900,000 children and their families,
200,000 staff, 1,900 Head Start programs, and 600 Early Head
Start programs in America. NHSA provides a national forum
for the continued delivery and enhancement of Head Start
services for at-risk children and their families.
CONTACT: Christine Kraly, for NHSA, (703) 276-3258 or ckraly@hastingsgroup.com.
EDITOR’S
NOTE: To see a round-up of newspaper editorials and commentary
pieces opposing White House and Capitol Hill
plans to dismantle Head Start, go to the SaveHeadStart.org
Web site at http://www.SaveHeadStart.org/understand.html.
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