LANSING, Mich. — A federal proposal to cut the Head Start Program Performance Standards by as much as 90% would dismantle the services that set Head Start apart from basic child care licensing, Michigan early childhood leaders said today. They are urging families, providers and advocates to submit public comment before the Oct. 6 deadline.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, “Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs,” was published in the Federal Register on Aug. 7 and would rescind roughly 1,400 regulatory provisions, folding six decades of comprehensive standards into a single, stripped-down section of federal code. More than 17,000 Michigan families and nearly 2,400 Michigan jobs are tied to the program statewide.
Leaders from the Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC) and the Michigan Head Start Association (MHSA) said the proposal is being framed as paperwork relief but reaches far beyond administrative burden. The standards targeted are the ones that require mental health consultation in every classroom, developmental screening and IDEA services for children with disabilities, family support that extends beyond the classroom, and a parent-majority Policy Council with real authority over hiring input, budgets and program planning.
“Michigan has spent years building something that works, expanding PreK for All, strengthening our early childhood workforce and reaching more families than ever before,” said Chanda Hillman, executive director of the Michigan Head Start Association. “This proposal pulls the foundation out from under that progress. What’s on the table isn’t paperwork. It’s the requirement that a child gets a developmental screening, that a family gets support beyond drop-off and pick-up, and that a parent has a real seat at the table.”
Michigan already treats the Head Start standards as the higher bar. The state allows publicly funded PreK programs to voluntarily adopt the Head Start Program Performance Standards in place of Michigan’s own implementation standards, because state policy recognizes them as more rigorous and more comprehensive.
“Rolling these standards back nationally doesn’t bring Head Start in line with other programs; it removes protections that nothing else in the system provides,” said Alan Oman, senior advisor at the Early Childhood Investment Corporation. “State licensing is a floor: it keeps a classroom safe. The Head Start standards are what make the program work for the whole family. And this comes at a moment when Michigan’s early childhood providers and the families they serve need stability, not another round of upheaval.”
The numbers behind those standards are substantial. Last year, Michigan Head Start served 4,896 children through IDEA services, reached 932 children in foster care and 1,855 children experiencing homelessness, and supported 17,463 families with a working parent, in school or in job training. Michigan Head Start programs employ 2,397 teachers, family child care providers and home visitors.
“Head Start gives kids a loving place where they can grow and learn. We have decades of research which proves how effective it is at making children’s lives better. Slashing its funding and standards is completely backwards,” said Congresswoman McDonald Rivet. “We need to raise our voices and make it clear we won’t let this happen.”
Advocates stressed that the window to weigh in closes before the rule is finalized, not after.
A media roundtable discussing the NPRM was held on Aug. 19. The event was recorded and is available to download here.
How to comment
The public comment period on the proposed rule closes Oct. 6, 2026. Comments can be submitted at regulations.gov under docket ACF-2026-0595, or directly through ecic4kids.org/protect-head-start-standards.