Democrats urge RFK Jr. to scrap proposed Head Start overhaul

Democrats are pressing Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to scrap a proposed overhaul of the Head Start program, warning the changes would weaken services for thousands of families nationwide.

The proposed rule, dubbed “Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs,” would “rescind and replace” the Head Start Program Performance Standards to “reduce regulatory burden,” “eliminate duplication with statutory requirements” and “reinforce state and local authority,” among other things, according to the Federal Register.

But in a letter to Kennedy, members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus argued that HHS’s proposed rule would “strip the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) of more than 90 percent of its standards, likely taking away vital services from children and families.”

“It eliminates and substantially weakens federal requirements governing early learning, health, mental health, and dental services, safety standards, family engagement and family social services, and other services that have defined Head Start for six decades,” they wrote.

The lawmakers said the proposed rule would eliminate a federal requirement that children be supervised at all times, reduce mandatory annual training on preventing abuse and neglect and repeal prohibitions on corporal punishment, shaming, humiliation and seclusion.

It would also “require Head Start instruction to be conducted in English, with an exception for Tribal programs,” a move that lawmakers argue would weaken dual-language learning.

The letter had 70 signers as of Monday and is led by Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (N.M.), as well as Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.), and Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Mich.).

“Head Start ensures our most vulnerable kids have access to the care, nutrition, and health services they need in those early years. I am proud to be a voice for the parents, like me, who are enraged by the anti-family, backward agenda of this administration,” Pettersen said in a statement. “I will fight every effort by Trump to dismantle this program and work to protect Colorado families and kids across the country.”

McDonald Rivet said in a statement that “this Administration’s proposed overhaul will wreak havoc on what makes Head Start so special. It’ll make it harder for kids to learn, harder for teachers to do their jobs, and harder for working parents to make ends meet.”

The Hill reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services for comment.