Olathe Public Schools' Head Start program will receive $1.9 million in federal funding to keep serving low-income preschoolers across Johnson County, Rep. Sharice Davids announced Aug. 25.

The grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will fund early childhood education, health services and family support for children ages 3 to 5 at the district's Harmony and Heartland early childhood centers, according to Davids' office.

The program, which has operated on federal grant funding for 65 years, is open to families in the Olathe, Blue Valley, Gardner/Edgerton, De Soto and Spring Hill (Johnson County side) school districts, the Olathe Reporter reported.

"Head Start is incredibly important to our community and I am fighting to preserve funding so kids have the resources they need," Davids said.

Assistant director of communications Erin Schulte told the Olathe Reporter that the continuation of the funding reflects the district's longstanding commitment to supporting children and families, and that the program helps support "the whole child and the whole family."

The grant arrives as the district faces a separate federal enforcement action. On the same day as the Head Start announcement, the U.S. Department of Education's Student Privacy Policy Office said it would partner with the Department of Justice to take "appropriate enforcement measures" against Olathe Public Schools over a FERPA dispute, according to KCTV5. That action could include judicial proceedings and potential loss of federal funding.

The FERPA enforcement and the Head Start grant involve separate federal agencies. The Head Start money comes from HHS, while the privacy dispute involves the Department of Education.

The district's Head Start program itself underwent a federal compliance review in February 2026 by the Administration for Children and Families. The OPS Board of Education approved a corrective action plan at its July 9 meeting to resolve an identified area of noncompliance, according to board documents. The budget source for that plan: the Head Start grant itself.

Davids cited national data showing students in early childhood education programs are 25% more likely to graduate high school and four times more likely to earn a bachelor's degree.

Olathe Public Schools, the second-largest district in Kansas with 28,245 students, is also preparing to announce which buildings it will target for closure on Sept. 3, as we reported Aug. 25.