The Wisconsin Head Start Association Condemns the Federal Administration’s Proposal to Gut Head Start Standards for Children and Families
Madison (August 6, 2026) – The Wisconsin Head Start Association (WHSA) condemns today’s proposal from the Trump administration regarding changes to the Head Start Program Performance Standards, warning that the proposal would weaken one of America’s most successful investments in young children and families while making it harder for local programs to provide the high-quality services children deserve.
For more than 60 years, Head Start has helped children succeed by pairing early education with health care, developmental screenings, nutrition, family support, and services for children with disabilities. Decades of research show that this comprehensive approach improves school readiness, educational attainment, health, and long-term economic outcomes. The administration’s proposal would dismantle many of the standards that have made those results possible.
If finalized, the proposal would:
- Eliminate the science-based requirements for educational quality, child safety, health, mental health, dental services, and developmental screenings, putting children at greater risk.
- Eliminate the evidence-based teacher-child ratios and group sizes that keep classrooms safe and allow teachers to give children the individualized attention they need.
- Eliminate standards that ensure new moms and infants receive essential screenings and services at medically necessary times, jeopardizing the health of the most vulnerable babies and families in the first months of life.
- Eliminate key requirements for serving children with disabilities, threatening their access to the services that allow them to participate and thrive alongside their peers.
- Eliminate parent governance and engagement requirements, silencing the voices of the parents who know their children and communities best.
- Impose new administrative cost caps on local programs, on top of years of inadequate funding, that would force programs to cut staff, cut services, or serve fewer children.
- Widen gaps in child care access and quality for rural and frontier communities, where child care is already scarce, unaffordable, and hard to find.
Rather than addressing the real challenges facing Head Start, including rising operating costs, workforce shortages, and years of inadequate funding, the proposal punishes programs and families for problems Washington created. It hands programs fewer resources and fewer protections at the same time, and it removes many of the evidence-based standards that have justified federal investment in Head Start for generations. WHSA will work with members of Congress to fight for the funding and standards children and families deserve.
“This proposal doesn’t modernize Head Start, it eliminates so much of what makes it impactful. Larger class sizes with fewer teachers. Fewer screenings to catch health and developmental problems early. Parents pushed out of decisions about their own children’s programs. Administrative caps that will force local programs to cut staff and turn families away. Eliminating these requirements do not give programs real flexibility or funding to meet rising costs — eliminating these requirements takes away the protections that keep Head Start safe, effective, and accountable to families. For generations, Head Start has opened doors for children and families. We should be building on that success, not dismantling the standards that make it possible,” said Jennie Mauer, executive director of WHSA.
Across Wisconsin, Head Start serves over 12,000 children and their families. For many families, and especially in rural and underserved communities in Wisconsin, Head Start is one of the only places where children can access high-quality early learning alongside health services, developmental screenings, nutritious meals, and family support. Head Start helps build strong children and a strong workforce. Weakening Head Start would affect not only enrolled children, but also local schools, employers, and communities that rely on the program to support working families. The majority of Head Start parents are working parents with few other options for quality care.
Head Start works because it is comprehensive,” said April Mullins-Datko, Head Start Director of Advocap. “Children don’t thrive because they receive one service, they thrive because Head Start meets families where they are and supports every aspect of a child’s development. Stripping away those standards puts that promise at risk.”
“Head Start is a lifeline for families, and a cornerstone of our community that serves children whose unique needs are often not met by other programs, especially in rural, western Wisconsin. At a time when families, especially farm and factory families, are struggling to find affordable, high-quality child care, we should be expanding opportunity, not weakening one of the programs that has delivered results for children for more than six decades,” said Thanh Bui-Duquette, Head Start Director, Western Dairyland.
The proposal will be open for public comment before the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) considers whether to issue a final rule. Current Head Start standards remain in effect, and local programs should continue operating under existing requirements while the federal rulemaking process moves forward.
WHSA is calling on parents, educators, community leaders, and everyone who believes every child deserves a strong start to submit comments rejecting this proposal and demanding HHS withdraw it and preserve the standards that have made Head Start successful for generations.
We are part of Together for Head Start, a nationwide coalition working to protect and strengthen Head Start, which is preparing resources, including a customizable public comment template, to help individuals and organizations participate in the upcoming rulemaking process. More details, including how to submit a comment, will be shared as soon as the comment period opens.
Related News Coverage:
- Thousands of Wisconsin families could be affected by Trump administration’s proposed changes to Head Start, Wisconsin Public Radio | Corrinne Hess | Programs include childcare, healthcare, disabilities support for children under 5
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Trump’s Deregulation of Head Start Would Lead to Bigger Class Sizes, Lower Quality The Nation | Bryce Covert | The administration has now made public a proposed rule to eliminate critical standards for services in the free preschool program.
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Wisconsin Head Start Association voices concerns after HHS proposes changes WMTV 15 News | Alaina Tomesh | Those with the Wisconsin Head Start Association are expressing concern as the Department of Health and Human Services proposed changes to the Head Start program
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Wisconsin Head Start leaders: Federal rule will pummel rural communities, WXPR | Judith Ruiz-Branch/Wisconsin News Connection | Early childhood leaders in Wisconsin said a proposed federal rule would deregulate Head Start, a program serving low-income families across the state.
- Trump Administration Proposes Sweeping Head Start Deregulation; Wisconsin Providers Warn of Quality vs. Access Trade-offs | WEAU 13 NEWS | Tydriana Antwi | In what is being described as the most significant disruption to the federal Head Start program in nearly two decades, local early childhood educators and policy advocates in Wisconsin are raising alarms over a newly unveiled Trump administration proposal to heavily deregulate the program.
- Wisconsin critics say proposed federal changes would roll back Head Start standards | Wisconsin Examiner | Erik Gunn | The federal government announced a proposed federal rule Thursday that rewrites or eliminates many regulations for Head Start early education programs nationwide.
About Wisconsin Head Start Association
WHSA is a non-profit membership association that supports the state’s Federally funded grantees, their staff, their parents, and supporters. WHSA offers professional development, advocacy, outreach, and networking services to member organizations.
