Early childhood advocates in the St. Louis area are urging people to pay attention, as the Trump administration proposes major changes to Head Start.
Head Start and Early Head Start serve low-income families with children from birth to age 5. The federal early childhood education program is run in communities based on a set of standards for care, education, safety and nutrition.
The new rules would aim to reduce the administrative budgets of the program by removing many standardized requirements for Head Start centers. The administration says cutting down so-called "compliance-driven activities" would save money. It also argues that shifting decisions about standards like student-teacher ratios back to states can make the programs more responsive.
The administration said it would ultimately make room to serve more families.
"The proposed landmark 2026 revision would fundamentally transform the landscape, empowering states and local authorities to meet the unique needs of children and families in their communities — free from burdensome Federal regulations that have long constrained progress," reads the official Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, published this month by the Children and Family Services Administration. "With the freedom to create local solutions for local challenges, these changes would ultimately strengthen and revitalize the family unit."
Critics say it's the first step in dismantling the program, which has been the subject of increased scrutiny by Republican lawmakers and others.
Start Early Illinois, which administers the program at the state level there, has come out against the proposals. In a statement, the organization warns the proposal could fundamentally weaken it. The group points specifically to the impact on services for children with disabilities, in multilingual families and on promoting family engagement. It questions the safety considerations around eliminating student-teacher ratios.
"When I consider the implications of this proposal, I don't think first about regulations. I think about the parent who can keep a job because they know their child is in a safe, nurturing classroom. I think about the child receiving developmental support they might never have received otherwise," said Nila Diab, executive director of Start Early Illinois, in the statement. "The administration's proposed changes put experiences like these at stake."
Stacy Johnson, chief early education officer and Head Start director at YWCA Metro St. Louis, said the program is already at liberty to make decisions and partnerships that best serve the families where they're located – and best stretch federal dollars.
"I think these standards ensure quality accountability and consistency across the country," said Johnson. "But actually, when you get in the door, you will see that things have been flexed and changed and modified to ensure that whatever that community needs, that's what we're trying to make sure we deliver."
The program has mostly received broad bipartisan federal support since its inception in 1965. More than a thousand children are currently in Head Start programs in St. Louis.
YWCA is the largest provider of direct Head Start services in St. Louis and St. Louis County. Johnson said they are still looking over the proposed changes, and working to keep an open mind.
"We are in favor of change as long as there is no negative impact," she said. "We want to make sure that what children are receiving that they continue to receive that high quality care and education."
Johnson said the operation operates based 80% on federal funding and 20% local money. She hopes other community partners and members of the public weigh in during the public comment period that's now open as part of the rules-change process.
"I think everybody needs to remember that early care and education is where [economic mobility] starts, and the ability to provide childcare in your state and your city has an economic impact, and so it's not just simple," she said. "People can't go to work if there's no childcare."
The public comment period is open through Oct. 6. Feedback can be submitted via the Federal Register.
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