Changes Ahead for Head Start: Examining the New Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

September 8, 2026
Changes Ahead for Head Start: Examining the New Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

The 61-year old Head Start Program has been in the headlines for several weeks, sparked by the August 7, 2026, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs. The proposed rule would “comprehensively rescind and replace” the Head Start Program Performance Standards. Is this regulatory overhaul, as one Wall Street Journal editorial asserts, a welcome restart? Or is it an effort, as one New Yorker article suggests, to deregulate Head Start out of existence? In the few weeks since the Notice was posted, policymakers, journalists, and advocates have published extensive analyses of what it proposes. Join us and a group of early learning experts, including three former Directors of the Office of Head Start, to make sense of what’s in the proposed rule, what isn’t, what opportunities it represents, and what risks it poses to children, families, and communities.