The diaspora organization La Brega y Fuerza has voiced opposition to the Trump administration’s proposal to require that instruction in Head Start preschool centers be conducted exclusively in English, including in Puerto Rico. "While being bilingual is a strength and it is important to promote it, what we do not support is the attempt to manipulate and devalue Spanish, the mother tongue of our children," said Camillie Rivera, founder of La Brega y Fuerza.
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the U.S. Department of Health proposed a new Head Start rule that, among other matters, would require "programs to deliver all instruction to children in English," in compliance with President Trump’s executive order declaring English the official language of the U.S. government. Where a child’s native language is not English and the child does not speak it, the program "must prioritize teaching English," under the suggested changes.
The proposal would exempt Indigenous tribes from the English requirement and allow institutions to request waivers. In its comment to the ACF, La Brega y Fuerza asked that the part of the rule making English the sole language of instruction in Head Start be withdrawn, or that the exemption proposed for Indigenous tribes be extended to Puerto Rico.
Rivera said imposing English as the only language on the youngest children, who are developing their mother tongue, disrupts their education and perpetuates assimilationist or colonial tactics. The group noted that Spanish has been the common language in Puerto Rico for centuries.