Trump administration proposes major Head Start deregulation

The Trump administration on Thursday proposed a sweeping rewrite of Head Start rules, moving to loosen federal standards for the $12 billion early education program that serves more than 700,000 children from low-income families each year.

Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services said the plan would give local programs more flexibility, reduce costs and allow Head Start to serve more children. The proposal would cut the cap on administrative expenses from 15% to 5%, shift several decisions to states and local providers, and eliminate many federal requirements that have long defined the program.

“We have 1,600 Head Start providers across the country,” Alex Adams, HHS assistant secretary for family support, told reporters. “And one-size-fits-all mandates from Washington cannot fully account for the realities facing these 1,600 grantees.”

Adams said the administrative cap could save more than $2 billion, or $2.2 billion according to NPR, and that the administration plans to reinvest the money in Head Start with the goal of creating 200,000 additional slots for children. “Federal mandates can certainly hinder local decision-making, drive up costs and limit the program’s reach,” he said, pointing to a decade-long decline in enrollment. “If we get this proposed rule right, we will grow the number of Head Start slots.”

Head Start, launched in 1965 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s anti-poverty agenda, provides preschool, child care, meals, health-related services and family support to eligible children from birth to age 5. The program serves children from vulnerable circumstances, including those who are homeless, in foster care or disabled.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised the program on the call, noting it was started by his uncle Sargent Shriver during the Johnson administration. “It’s a program that works for the most vulnerable of the poorest kids in our society, and it’s really important we protect it,” Kennedy said.

The proposal would remove many of the regulations contained in Head Start’s more than 100-page rule book. The Guardian reported that the administration wants to erase about 1,400 regulations, including detailed requirements on staff-to-student ratios, family support services, health screening deadlines, evaluations for developmental delays and lead-exposure prevention in facilities. NPR reported that decisions on standards such as student-teacher ratios, education requirements, background checks and transportation practices would shift back to states.

Some requirements would be added. The proposal would require instruction in English, except in tribal communities with Native-language immersion programs, according to The Guardian. It would also require 30 minutes of physical activity for every three and a half hours of programming, outside when weather allows, and would add nutrition education for families, including warnings about “the negative health consequences of sugar-sweetened beverages and grain-based desserts.”

Advocates and current and former Head Start leaders warned the plan could weaken the program’s quality. “This version of Head Start is a shell of the program,” said Khari Garvin, who oversaw Head Start under President Joe Biden. “This is a deeply diluted version of the program, which, in my view, will cause child and community outcomes to wane.”

Yvette Sanchez Fuentes, senior vice president with Start Early, an Illinois-based Head Start partner, questioned whether the proposal would truly expand access. “If we look at the previous actions of the administration, what they have done is not in favor of expanding the program,” she said. “Is it enough to just bring kids in the door if we’re not actually giving kids and families what they need?”

Erica Phillips, executive director of the National Association for Family Child Care, said Head Start’s current standards provide “a nationally recognized benchmark” and warned that quality could become dependent on geography. Adams countered that programs would not be forced to change. “Flexibility is permission. It’s not a mandate,” he said.

The proposal will be published in the Federal Register and opened for 60 days of public comment. NPR reported that the process could take six months to a year before any new standards take effect. The Guardian reported that legal challenges could delay implementation.