The Trump administration is proposing to wipe away more than 1,400 federal requirements governing Head Start, stripping back national standards that help ensure children and families receive high-quality services no matter where they live.

The proposed rule would eliminate the federal staff-child ratio and class size requirements and instead rely largely on state standards. It would remove federal limits on suspensions and the prohibition on expulsion. It would eliminate detailed requirements involving health and mental health services, weaken family engagement standards, and replace current support for bilingual learning with an English instruction requirement for most programs.

These changes could transform what families receive from Head Start. Civil rights, disability, child advocacy, and early education organizations warn that shifting away from strong national standards could create vastly different levels of service from one state to another and disproportionately harm children already facing barriers to opportunity. Black children make up approximately 29% of Head Start participants, Latino children 40%, and children with disabilities 15%.

The Department of Health and Human Services is accepting public comments through October 6. This is our opportunity to put strong opposition directly into the federal record.

Click “Start Writing” to personalize and submit your comment telling the Trump administration to withdraw this proposal and protect strong, comprehensive Head Start standards for every child.