WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 360 state legislators representing all 50 states yesterday called on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to rescind its proposed rewrite of the Head Start Program Performance Standards, warning the changes would weaken program quality, destabilize programs, and shift costs to families and states. 

In a comment letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., organized by the National Women’s Law Center, State Innovation Exchange (SiX), and Child Care for Every Family Network, the lawmakers urged HHS to preserve the quality standards and essential services relied upon by more than 700,000 young children and their families each year.

The signers include state legislators who are Head Start graduates, Head Start parents, and former early childhood educators. 

“We have seen, and many of us experienced first hand, how Head Start can transform a young child’s life, with benefits that extend far beyond the classroom,” state policymakers wrote in their comment to HHS. “Undermining what makes Head Start so successful will rob over 700,000 of our youngest children every year of critical opportunities that can help shape the course of their lives and, ultimately, the future of our country.”

Read the full letter and list of signers here.

The proposed rule would be the largest overhaul of Head Start Program Performance Standards in the program’s 60-year history. It would eliminate nearly all of the evidence-based requirements that have defined the program, and among other harmful changes would thereby:

• Weaken child safety and program quality. The proposal would remove teacher-child ratio and class size requirements, standards on suspensions and expulsions, and requirements for vision, hearing, and developmental screenings. It also reduces protections for children with disabilities and multilingual learners, along with services for pregnant women and their infants.
• Put small and rural programs at risk. HHS wants to cap administrative spending at 5 percent, down from the current 15 percent ceiling. By HHS’s own count, only 3.7 percent of programs meet that mark today. Small and rural programs, often the only child care in their communities, face the greatest risk of closure.
• Shift costs onto families and states. Shorter program hours and fewer covered essentials during program hours, including diapers and formula, would require more families to seek state child care assistance and enrollment state pre-K, if those options are even available. School districts could face higher costs as more children arrive without the critical support they need.
• Drive educators out of Head Start. The proposal would eliminate requirements for staff breaks, mental health supports, and research-based coaching. HHS estimates the changes could result in the loss of 40,000 Head Start jobs nationwide and $167 million in cuts to health services.

The legislators also object to HHS’s failure to consult Head Start families, program leaders, state and local governments, or early childhood experts in developing the proposal.

The letter urges HHS to withdraw the proposal immediately and in its entirety, and to instead pursue policies consistent with the Head Start statute that strengthen the program for children, families, and their communities.