Trump targets Head Start rules, shifting standards to states
What's new: The proposal would cap administrative spending at 5%, open a 60-day comment period and aims to add 200,000 slots.
The Trump administration moved Thursday to rewrite Head Start rules, proposing a broad rollback of federal standards for the preschool program that serves more than 700,000 low-income children each year. The Department of Health and Human Services wants states and local providers to take more control over staffing ratios, education requirements, background checks, transportation practices and some family services. Officials said cutting the cap on administrative overhead from 15% to 5% would save $2.2 billion and help create 200,000 more seats. Critics, including early childhood policy experts and Head Start partners, argue the changes could weaken medical, dental and family support services that have long set the program apart. The proposal faces a 60-day public comment period.