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Last month, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) to overhaul regulations for Head Start—a free, federally funded program providing high-quality learning and development services to hundreds of thousands of children ages birth to 5 from low-income families across the country.
As written, the NPRM has the potential to eliminate the vast majority of program performance standards for Head Start centers, including standards for teaching and learning; comprehensive services requirements for mental health and family support; requirements specifying screening and assessment for disabilities; and health and safety requirements such as those governing group size and ratios.
The NPRM does include a small bright spot in the form of a new requirement to provide a minimum of thirty minutes of outdoor physical activity for every three and a half hours of programming. However, as written, the proposal lacks specifications about quality in outdoor environments and leaves open to interpretation the weather conditions under which outdoor play is allowed.
Setting aside the importance of children's ability to access healthy outdoor play, these proposed changes raise serious concerns about the implications for Head Start centers, the children and families they serve, and the early learning sector as a whole. Recognizing the close connection between safe and inclusive nature-based experiences, quality early learning standards, and child well-being, Natural Start calls on advocates, providers, and all members of our networks to submit a public comment on the proposed regulatory changes ahead of the October 6 deadline.
The following resources are designed to support understanding of the NPRM and public comment process:
- Talking Points on the Head Start NPRM | The Ideal Learning Head Start Network at Trust for Learning;
- Head Start NPRM: Public Comment How-To Guide | First Five Years Fund;
- A Wake Up Call for the Country | Commentary on the critical need to protect Head Start by Joan Lombardi, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development for the Administration for Children and Families; and
- Webinar: Understanding and Responding to the Head Start NPRM | National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).