The Department of Health and Human Services proposed a sweeping deregulation of Head Start on Thursday, moving to rescind hundreds of federal rules that have governed the early education program for low-income children for decades and to transfer much of that authority to states and parents.
The proposal would strip away mandates on low student-to-teacher ratios, family support services and comprehensive health screening, Education Week reported. The Washington Post reported that it would also add new dietary and physical fitness requirements for children and cap payments for administrative overhead.
Head Start serves roughly 700,000 children from birth to age 5 nationwide, according to Democracy Now. The program was created more than 60 years ago and is administered by HHS, which is now led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Alex Adams, the department's assistant secretary for family support, told reporters there are 1,600 Head Start providers across the country, NPR reported.
The announcement came in the form of a notice of proposed rulemaking, which begins a formal process of public comment and consultation with stakeholders. NPR reported that it could take six months to a year before any new standards take effect.
Advocates for the program described the move as the first stage in dismantling it. Among the regulations targeted for removal are requirements to provide assistance to parents of children with disabilities, according to Democracy Now.
The proposal follows years of pressure from the political right. The Heritage Foundation has long argued that the program does not work, and Project 2025, the foundation's policy blueprint, called for eliminating Head Start outright, NPR reported. The administration separately asked Congress last year to zero out the program's funding in its budget request.