Trump Administration proposing the largest rollback of Head Start quality protections in the program’s history
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Kelly Morrison (MN-03) joined her colleagues in demanding that Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. withdraw his proposed rule that would gut Head Start, increase costs for families, and eliminate critical educational resources women and families rely on.
The Trump Administration is proposing a rule that would strip the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) of more than 90% of its standards, likely taking away vital services from children and families. It eliminates and substantially weakens federal requirements governing early learning, health, mental health, and dental services, safety standards family engagement and family social services, and other services that have defined Head Start for six decades.
For 60 years, Head Start has served over 40 million families and children with accessible social services, healthcare, and improved early learning standards. The program provides low-income children, children with disabilities, dual language learners, and children experiencing homelessness with the resources needed to succeed in school. Even after six decades, Head Start remains popular, with four in five Americans saying they’re in support of the program— evidence that Trump’s efforts to gut it are out of step with what Americans want.
The proposed rule would diminish the quality of Head Start services and undermine its ability to develop evidence-based programs that improve education, health, nutrition, parental involvement, and social services—forcing families to either lose these resources or turn to more expensive options elsewhere. Head Start would no longer be able to connect families to jobs, education, and housing opportunities or effectively help children succeed in school.
“This proposed rule guts an essential early childhood program and its services for hundreds of thousands of women and families nationwide, which would increase their costs and burden to replace those services. In today’s environment of rising costs, it is cruel to make life more difficult and expensive for these families,” the Members wrote. “We urge HHS to withdraw this proposal in full.”
The letter was signed by nearly 90 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Read the full letter HERE.
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