The Details: A Closer Look at the Proposed Changes
The proposed rule includes many changes. The sections below focus on changes that may be especially important to children with disabilities and their families.
Disability-Related Changes to Current Head Start Requirements
Helping Families Navigate the IEP and IFSP Process
Current Regulations: Head Start programs must help parents of children with disabilities understand and navigate special education and early intervention services. This can include helping parents understand referral and evaluation timelines, participate in decisions about eligibility, take part in developing an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), understand evaluations and services, and connect with services, equipment, and other supports.
Proposed Rule: These detailed Head Start requirements would be removed. Head Start programs would still have general responsibilities to involve parents and coordinate with agencies that serve children with disabilities. However, the proposed rule would no longer require Head Start programs to provide the same detailed level of help to families navigating the IEP or IFSP process.
Head Start's Role in IEP and IFSP Services
Current Regulations: Head Start programs must work with families and the agencies responsible for special education and early intervention. This includes helping make sure children receive services in their IEP or IFSP, supporting progress toward IEP or IFSP goals, coordinating services Head Start cannot provide, and helping children receive services in their regular Head Start setting when possible.
Proposed Rule: These detailed Head Start requirements would be removed. Programs would still have to coordinate with local education agencies and early intervention programs. Early Head Start programs would also still have to maintain connections with early intervention providers. However, the proposed rule would no longer spell out many of Head Start's current responsibilities for helping carry out an individual child's IEP or IFSP.
Attendance and Disability-Related Absences
Current Regulations: Head Start programs must track each child's attendance and take specific steps when a child begins missing too many days.
Programs must identify children at risk of missing 10 percent of program days, work with families to improve attendance, look at barriers such as transportation, contact families after repeated unexplained absences, and try to reconnect with families when a child stops attending.
For a child with a disability, absences may be related to medical appointments, therapies, transportation problems, health needs, behavioral needs, or other disability-related circumstances.
Proposed Rule: Programs would still have to track attendance, but the detailed federal requirements for responding to absences would be removed.
Programs would no longer have the same federal requirements to identify attendance patterns, look at barriers, and develop attendance strategies with families. Other federal and state laws, including disability rights laws, would still apply.
Disability-Related Changes Where Other Requirements Would Remain
Developmental Screening and Referral
Current Regulations: Head Start programs generally must complete or obtain a developmental screening within 45 calendar days after a child starts the program. Current rules also include requirements about how screenings are done and what programs must do if there are concerns about a child's development.
Proposed Rule: The detailed screening rules, including the Head Start-specific 45-day timeline, would be removed. Programs would still have to conduct developmental screenings. They would also still need procedures for the timely referral of children who may have disabilities to the appropriate special education or early intervention agency.
Programs would have more flexibility in how they meet these requirements.
Services While a Child Is Being Evaluated
Current Regulations: While a child is being evaluated for special education or early intervention services, Head Start must provide individualized services and supports to the greatest extent possible. Programs can use information from parents, staff observations, and assessments to support the child while the evaluation is taking place.
Proposed Rule: These detailed requirements would be removed. Head Start programs would still have to provide early educational and behavioral supports to children who may have disabilities before a final eligibility decision is made. They would also still have to make timely referrals and work with the appropriate agencies.
Full Participation and Accommodations
Current Regulations: Head Start programs must make sure children with disabilities can fully participate in program activities and services. Current rules specifically require programs to make changes to the environment, use different ways of teaching, provide accommodations, and offer other supports when needed.
Proposed Rule: These detailed Head Start requirements would be removed. Programs would instead follow other federal and state disability laws. Protections under laws such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act would still apply.
Transitions to Preschool and Kindergarten
Current Regulations: Head Start has detailed rules for helping children and families move from Early Head Start into Head Start Preschool or another early childhood program, and from Head Start Preschool into kindergarten.
For children moving into kindergarten, programs must help families understand their child's progress, prepare parents to take part in school decisions, explain available supports and services, coordinate with schools, communicate with kindergarten staff, and help children get ready for their new school.
Children with IEPs must receive additional transition support.
Proposed Rule: The detailed federal rules for transition services would be removed. Head Start programs would still have to coordinate with schools, help families stay involved in their child's education, and support children moving into elementary school.
Early Head Start programs would also still have responsibilities when children move into Head Start Preschool or another early childhood program. However, local programs would have more flexibility in deciding how transition support is provided.
Parent and Family Engagement and Partnership Services
Current Regulations: Head Start has detailed requirements for working with parents and families. Programs must identify family strengths and needs, help families set goals, connect families with services and resources, review progress, and support families of children with disabilities.
Head Start programs must also have a parent committee at each center. These committees give parents a formal way to advise staff about local program policies, activities, and services. Current rules also generally limit family service worker caseloads to no more than 40 families per staff member, with limited exceptions.
Proposed Rule: Many of these detailed family engagement requirements would be removed. Programs would still have responsibilities to work with families, but would have more flexibility in deciding how that work is done.
Parent committees would become optional. Programs could continue to use them, but they would no longer be required at each center. Other forms of required parent participation, including Policy Councils, would remain.
The 40-family caseload limit would also be removed. Local programs would decide how many families are assigned to each family service worker. This could mean family service workers have different caseloads from one Head Start program to another.
Home-Based Head Start Services
Some Head Start programs provide services in the child and family's home. A Head Start home visitor works regularly with the parent or caregiver and child. Families also take part in group activities with other children and families.
Current Regulations: Federal rules set minimum requirements for these home-based services.
Early Head Start home-based programs generally must provide:
• One home visit each week lasting at least 90 minutes
• At least 46 home visits each year
• At least 22 group socialization activities each year
Head Start Preschool home-based programs generally must provide:
• One home visit each week lasting at least 90 minutes
• At least 32 home visits each year
• At least 16 group socialization activities each year
Home visitors generally may work with no more than 12 families at one time. Current rules also include requirements for make-up visits, curriculum, planning with parents, and group activities.
Proposed Rule: These detailed federal requirements would be removed.
Federal rules would no longer set the same minimum number or length of home visits, minimum number of group activities, home visitor caseload limit, or make-up visit requirements. Programs could choose to keep their current practices, but states and local Head Start programs would have more flexibility in deciding how often home visits happen and how home-based services are provided.
Health and Mental Health Services
Mental Health Supports
Current Regulations: Head Start has detailed requirements for supporting children's mental health and social and emotional well-being. These include access to mental health consultation, with consultation generally required at least monthly, and requirements for using mental health supports when children have behavioral or mental health needs.
Proposed Rule: The monthly mental health consultation requirement and several other detailed mental health requirements would be removed. Programs would still have responsibilities related to children's mental health, but local programs would have more flexibility in deciding how those services and supports are provided.
Health Care and Support for Families
Current Regulations: Head Start has specific requirements for children's health and for helping families get health care. These include health screenings and determinations, helping families get needed care, helping families navigate the health care system, and helping families access health insurance and other health services.
Proposed Rule: Several of these detailed requirements would be removed. This includes some requirements for health determinations, helping families navigate health systems, helping families access health care and insurance, and maintaining a Health and Mental Health Services Advisory Committee.
Programs would still have responsibilities related to children's health, but there would be fewer detailed federal requirements about how those services must be provided.
Other Changes
Language and Dual-Language Learners
Current Regulations: Head Start currently requires programs serving children who are learning more than one language to support both English development and the child's home language. Current rules recognize bilingualism and biliteracy as strengths.
Proposed Rule: Head Start education would generally have to be provided in English. For children whose home language is not English and who do not yet speak English, programs would be required to prioritize teaching English.
American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start programs using Tribal languages to support Tribal heritage would be exempt. Other programs could request a waiver.
Some language access protections would remain, including requirements related to appropriate assessments and providing parents information they can understand.
Suspension and Expulsion Based on Behavior
Current Regulations: Head Start sharply limits suspension because of a child's behavior and does not allow a child to be expelled or removed from the program because of behavior.
Temporary suspension can generally be used only as a last resort when there is a serious safety concern and other approaches have not worked. Programs must involve parents, use mental health supports when appropriate, and consider whether the child may need a disability evaluation or additional IEP or IFSP supports.
Proposed Rule: These Head Start-specific limits on suspension and the prohibition on expulsion would be removed. Head Start and Early Head Start programs would generally be able to develop their own discipline policies, subject to other federal, state, and local laws.
HHS says this change is not an endorsement of suspension or expulsion. HHS says the change is intended to give states and local programs more control over discipline policies. Federal disability rights protections would still apply.
Transportation
Current Regulations: Head Start has detailed federal transportation requirements. Programs that transport children generally must have a bus monitor, maintain child rosters, make sure children are not left on vehicles, meet driver training requirements, and follow other transportation safety rules.
There are also specific transportation rules for children with disabilities. Head Start must provide adapted vehicles when needed and follow transportation requirements included in a child's IEP or IFSP. These can include special pick-up and drop-off arrangements, seating, equipment, assistance, and training for drivers and bus monitors.
Proposed Rule: The current Head Start-specific transportation rules would be removed. Programs would instead follow other federal, state, Tribal, and local transportation and safety requirements. The federal Head Start requirement to have a bus monitor on a vehicle would be removed.
The Head Start rule specifically requiring adapted transportation and special transportation arrangements included in an IEP or IFSP would also be removed. Other disability laws and IEP or IFSP requirements would still apply.
Staff-to-Child Ratios and Group Size
Current Regulations: Head Start currently sets federal limits on class size and requires a minimum number of teaching staff based on children's ages.
For example:
• Classes serving children under age 3 generally must have two teachers for no more than eight children, or three teachers for no more than nine children.
• Classes serving mostly 3-year-olds generally may have no more than 17 children with two teaching staff.
• Classes serving mostly 4- and 5-year-olds generally may have no more than 20 children with two teaching staff.
If state or local requirements are stricter, programs must follow the stricter rule.
Proposed Rule: The federal Head Start ratios and group-size limits would be removed. There is no other federal Head Start rule that would replace them with a specific number.
Programs would instead follow applicable state and local licensing requirements and other childcare requirements. Programs could choose to keep their current Head Start ratios, but they would no longer be federally required to do so.
HHS says some programs may increase the number of children per teacher. HHS also recognizes that higher ratios could mean children receive less individual attention from teaching staff.
Hours and Length of Head Start Services
Head Start Preschool
Current Regulations: At least 45% of center-based Head Start Preschool enrollment must currently receive at least 1,020 hours of planned class time each year. Other Head Start Preschool slots also have minimum requirements for days and hours of service.
Proposed Rule: The 1,020-hour requirement would be removed.
Programs could continue providing the same number of hours, but they would no longer be required to meet that federal Head Start standard. Programs operating five days per week would generally have to provide at least 160 days each year. Programs operating four days per week would generally have to provide at least 128 days.
Early Head Start
Current Regulations: Center-based Early Head Start programs generally must provide at least 1,380 hours of planned class time each year.
Proposed Rule: The specific 1,380-hour requirement would be removed. Early Head Start would still be required to provide continuous services for infants, toddlers, and families. HHS says this has been understood to mean full-day, year-round services for center-based Early Head Start.
What Could These Changes Mean?
HHS says these proposed changes would reduce federal rules and duplication and give states and local Head Start programs more flexibility to meet the needs of children and families in their communities. In many cases, programs could choose to keep their current practices even when those practices would no longer be required by federal Head Start rules.
At the same time, many of the current rules create the same basic expectations for Head Start programs across the country. Removing those detailed federal requirements could result in greater differences from one Head Start program or state to another.
For children with disabilities and their families, these changes may diminish the federal framework that currently creates more consistent expectations for some services and supports, even when other federal disability protections continue to apply.
HHS believes greater state and local flexibility will allow programs to respond better to local needs. Others may believe that fewer nationwide requirements could result in less consistency, predictability, or federal accountability in areas such as disability services, family supports, health and mental health services, discipline, transportation, staffing, and the amount of services children receive.
Share Your Comments
These changes have not yet taken effect. SCDD encourages individuals, families, service providers, and others with experience or perspectives related to Head Start to review the proposal and share their views with HHS.
HHS is accepting public comments through Tuesday, October 6, 2026.
Read the proposed rule:
Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/07/2026-16134/reducing-federal-burden-for-head-start-programs
Submit a public comment:
Federal Register public comment page
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