The Trump administration is moving to deregulate Head Start, a 60-year-old anti-poverty program, to save money.
Founded by Sargent Shriver during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration in the 1960s, Head Start is overseen by the US Health Department's Administration for Children and Families.
The proposed changes include eliminating various federal rules, shifting oversight to state and local governments, and adding new dietary and fitness requirements for students. The changes would also reduce requirements for class sizes, medical screenings, and math and literacy curriculums.
700,000 children
Number of children served by Head Start, including those in foster care and experiencing homelessness.
Assistant Secretary Alex Adams stated that the changes are expected to free up more than $2 billion for the program, which could allow for the enrollment of up to 268,000 more children. Adams said the administration built the rule around trusting local leaders to make decisions for their communities.
We built this rule around trusting local leaders to make decisions for their communities.
— Assistant Secretary Alex Adams
Political response and criticism
The National Head Start Association stated the proposed changes represent the most significant revisions to the program in its 61-year history. Executive director Yasmina Vinci said, “Fewer rules cannot mean fewer results”.
All but declared war on Head Start and affordable child care in America.
— US Democratic Senator Patty Murray
Updates
The proposed changes would eliminate approximately 1,400 regulations, including detailed requirements for preventing lead exposure, and impose a 5% cap on administrative expenses—down from 15%—while mandating 30 minutes of daily physical activity when weather permits; additionally, all instruction must be in English except in tribal language immersion programs, and new nutrition standards championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. require family education on sugar-sweetened beverages and desserts, with critics like former Biden official Khari Garvin and Senator Patty Murray warning the revisions would undermine child health, exclude children with disabilities, and erode program成效.
The proposed changes would eliminate approximately 1,400 federal regulations, including specific requirements for preventing lead exposure, and impose a 5% cap on administrative expenses—down from 15%—while mandating 30 minutes of daily physical activity when weather permits; additionally, all instruction must be delivered in English except in tribal native-language immersion programs, and new nutrition standards championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. require family education warning against sugar-sweetened beverages and grain-based desserts, though critics including former Biden-era Head Start director Khari Garvin and Senator Patty Murray warn the revisions gut core services,
The proposed changes would eliminate 1,400 federal regulations, including mandates for lead exposure prevention, daily tooth brushing, health screenings for hearing/vision/dental issues, developmental delay evaluations, and robust family support services, while capping administrative expenses at 5% (down from 15%) and requiring 30 minutes of daily physical activity when weather permits; the Department of Health and Human Services also proposed new nutrition standards championed by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who claimed the program 'works for the most vulnerable of the poorest kids' despite critics like former Biden official Khari Garvin and Senator Patty Murray warning the reforms dilu
