WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump’s administration said Thursday it plans to overhaul , tossing out many of the regulations that are the hallmark of the early education program for the nation’s neediest children.
Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the federally funded preschool program, said the proposed changes would encourage more local decision-making. But the proposal has sparked alarm across the Head Start community, where advocates say it threatens the backbone of the antipoverty initiative. serve around 700,000 of the nation鈥檚 most vulnerable children, including those who are homeless, in foster care or disabled.
The Associated Press previously reported on , which became public Thursday when it was posted online. Americans have 60 days to weigh in before it goes into effect, though it could face legal challenges that might delay implementation.
Alex J. Adams, an assistant secretary at Health and Human Services, said the department is hoping to give Head Start centers flexibility to change the way they operate by eliminating most of the program’s regulations, such as standards for low staff-to-student ratios.
“Federal mandates can certainly hinder local decision-making, drive up costs and limit the program鈥檚 reach,鈥� Adams said on a call with reporters.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy spoke reverently about , which was started by his uncle Sargent Shriver under President Lyndon B. Johnson.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a program that works for the most vulnerable of the poorest kids in our society, and it鈥檚 really important we protect it,鈥� Kennedy said.
But the changes would undermine many of the things that make Head Start distinct from other early education programs, according to current and former Head Start leaders.
鈥淭his version of Head Start is a shell of the program,鈥� said Khari Garvin, who oversaw Head Start under Democratic President Joe Biden. 鈥淭his is a deeply diluted version of the program, which, in my view, will cause child and community outcomes to wane.鈥�
What makes Head Start different
Head Start is governed by more than 100 pages of regulations. They require centers to have low staff-to-student ratios, a research-backed curriculum and bevvy of wraparound services for kids in poverty, including medical and dental screenings.
The Trump administration wants to toss out nearly all of that rule book, erasing some 1,400 regulations. Instead, Head Start鈥檚 operators 鈥� which include nonprofits and school districts 鈥� would look to state and local childcare licensing requirements for guidance, including on matters of child safety and class sizes. The proposal also scraps detailed requirements on preventing lead exposure in Head Start facilities.
Other aspects of the program would be scrapped entirely. Family engagement requirements, which mandated that staff meet with parents to help them set and achieve goals, would be erased. So would deadlines for providing health and developmental screenings. Gone, too, is a mandate that children brush their teeth at school.
But parents say these comprehensive services are what made the difference in their lives 鈥� and the lives of their children. Lori Pittman, an advocate from Washington state, said her family was in crisis when she enrolled her son in Head Start, with a husband struggling with substance abuse. Head Start staff encouraged her to go back to school and eventually employed her. She credits the preschool with helping her family escape poverty.
鈥淚 was given the opportunity, while my child was in Head Start, to learn about leadership, to go back to school,鈥� Pittman said. 鈥淚 know Head Start works.鈥�
The proposal was cheered by conservatives, who believe Head Start should be shuttered because it should be states 鈥� not the federal government 鈥� overseeing preschools.
鈥淚f the goal here is to make it more efficient for taxpayers, then the type of regulatory changes they鈥檙e thinking of here are good steps,鈥� said Jonathan Butcher of the Heritage Foundation.
While the proposed rules largely loosen requirements, Adams emphasized centers have the option to continue to operate as they had in the past. He estimates deregulation could save the program more than $2 billion, money that could be reinvested back in to the program to create more than 200,000 new slots. That savings would be driven in part by cutting staff, including teachers, and allowing class sizes to rise, the Trump administration says.
But Head Start advocates are skeptical the changes could help grow the program. Head Start enrollment has been declining for a decade, in part because of rising costs that have outpaced federal funding, forcing programs to scale back the number of children they serve. Staff shortages have also contributed, and they aren’t likely to improve if programs start asking teachers to supervise more students.
Advocates also worry financial pressures will force programs to forgo aspects of the program that would become optional under the Trump administration rules.
鈥淭hey’re saying they’re going to serve all these other kids,鈥� said Jenny Mauer, head of the Wisconsin Head Start Association. 鈥淲hat are you going to lose to do that, to serve more children without more money?鈥�
Alongside the deregulation, the proposal would add some new requirements. Staffers would have to deliver all instruction in English, except in tribal communities that run immersion programs in native languages. There would be a 5% cap on administrative expenses, down from 15%. The proposal also includes a requirement for 30 minutes of physical activity 鈥� outside if the weather permits 鈥� for every three and a half hours of the program. New nutrition standards, championed by Kennedy, would require programs to provide more nutrition education for families, including warning them of 鈥渢he negative health consequences of sugar-sweetened beverages and grain-based desserts.鈥�
State rules are more lenient
Overall, experts emphasize, state childcare licensing requirements are far more lax than Head Start’s current regulations. State rules are largely focused on ensuring children are healthy and safe. They generally do not require centers to provide things like medical screenings, they don’t specify ways to engage with parents, and they don’t speak to what 鈥� if anything 鈥� should be taught in childcare settings.
Shantel Meek, who heads the Children鈥檚 Equity Project at Arizona State University, co-authored an analysis that compared state licensing requirements with Head Start standards and found massive gaps.
鈥淲hereas licensing is, like, the bare minimum to keep kids safe, Head Start includes keeping kids safe but also ensuring that kids are developing, growing, learning well,鈥� Meek said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a totally different purpose.鈥�
Critically, states allow adults to care for far more children than is allowed under Head Start standards. If the proposal goes through, about 80% of Head Start students would have worse staff-to-student ratios, Meek’s analysis found. In Mississippi, for example, one Head Start teacher is only allowed to teach up to four 2-year-olds. State childcare regulations would permit up to a dozen 2-year-olds to be supervised by one adult.
Head Start, which operates in all 50 states, has long had support from Democrats and Republicans. But it has faced repeated threats under the Trump administration. Not long after Trump, a Republican, took office again in early 2025, some Head Start programs had to briefly shutter because they had . Later, a budget draft eliminated Head Start鈥檚 funding, but it was restored after widespread backlash.
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