Trump administration moves forward with Head Start overhaul, proposing
to eliminate regulations
[August 07, 2026]
By MORIAH BALINGIT
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration said Thursday
it plans to overhaul Head Start, 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. Head Start centers
serve around 700,000 of the nation’s most vulnerable children, including
those who are homeless, in foster care or disabled.
The Associated Press previously reported on the proposed rule, 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’s reach,” Adams said on a call with
reporters.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy spoke reverently about Head Start,
which was started by his uncle Sargent Shriver under President Lyndon B.
Johnson.
“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.
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.
“This version of Head Start is a shell of the program,” said Khari
Garvin, who oversaw Head Start under Democratic President Joe Biden.
“This is a deeply diluted version of the program, which, in my view,
will cause child and community outcomes to wane.”
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’s operators — which
include nonprofits and school districts — 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 — 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.
“I was given the opportunity, while my child was in Head Start, to learn
about leadership, to go back to school,” Pittman said. “I know Head
Start works.”
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The proposal was cheered by conservatives, who believe Head Start
should be shuttered because it should be states — not the federal
government — overseeing preschools.
“If the goal here is to make it more efficient for taxpayers, then
the type of regulatory changes they’re thinking of here are good
steps,” 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.
“They're saying they're going to serve all these other kids,” said
Jenny Mauer, head of the Wisconsin Head Start Association. “What are
you going to lose to do that, to serve more children without more
money?”
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 — outside if the weather permits
— 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
“the negative health consequences of sugar-sweetened beverages and
grain-based desserts.”
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 — if anything — should be taught in childcare
settings.
Shantel Meek, who heads the Children’s Equity Project at Arizona
State University, co-authored an analysis that compared state
licensing requirements with Head Start standards and found massive
gaps.
“Whereas 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,” Meek said. “It’s a totally
different purpose.”
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 problems accessing their federal
money. Later, a budget draft eliminated Head Start’s funding, but it
was restored after widespread backlash.
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