Education

Illinois Advocate Sounds the Alarm as Trump Administration Proposes Eliminating Head Start Regulations

An Illinois advocate for Head Start is denouncing the Trump administration’s proposed overhaul of the federal early childcare and education program, which aims to support the poorest and most vulnerable children — including those who are homeless, in foster care or have disabilities.

Illinois Head Start Association Executive Director Lauri Morrison-Frichtl argued the proposed changes, announced Thursday, undercut the model of Head Start and would lower the quality of its programs.

“Standards are a floor — they’re not the ceiling — so removing that floor puts every program at risk,” Morrison-Frichtl said. “Head Start works because of our high standards.”

Head Start is currently governed by more than 100 pages of regulations that require centers to have low staff-to-student ratios and a research-backed curriculum, among other things. The regulations ensure centers are providing wraparound services that are critical to children in poverty, including medical and dental screenings and parent coaching.

The Trump administration’s proposal would toss out nearly all of that rule book. Instead, Head Start’s 1,600 operators across the U.S. — which include nonprofits and school districts — would look to state and local childcare licensing requirements for guidance on many aspects of the program.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the federally funded preschool program, said the proposed changes would encourage more local decision-making and give Head Start centers the flexibility to change the way they operate.

“Federal mandates can certainly hinder local decision-making, drive up costs and limit the program’s reach,” Alex J. Adams, an assistant secretary at HHS, said on a call with reporters in which he highlighted a decade-long decline in Head Start enrollment. 

“If we get this proposed rule right, we will grow the number of Head Start slots,” Adams said.

In Illinois, Head Start supports more than 600 childcare and classroom centers and 28,000 children, in addition to about 9,000 employees, according to Morrison-Frichtl. She said programs in the state already offer flexibility that the federal government says it aims to achieve through its proposed changes.

The Illinois Department of Early Childhood and the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The nonprofit Illinois Head Start Association aims to serve as the voice for programs, staff and parents in the state.

“I’ve visited every program in Illinois and there’s not one program that looks the same,” Morrison-Frichtl said. “They reflect their community. Our grants are driven on community needs assessment, and the culture, and the community, and our programs reflect their communities. There’s a lot of flexibility in our programs already.”

By no longer having requirements to provide comprehensive services, Morrison-Frichtl argued, the federal government is looking to free up resources to increase the number of children in classrooms. She said teachers need low staff-to-student ratios to better serve children and families most in need.

The Trump administration’s proposal also adds new Head Start requirements, such as staffers having to deliver all instruction in English, except in tribal communities that run immersion programs in native languages. Morrison-Frichtl said that requirement would prevent dual language learning in classrooms. About 60% of children enrolled in the Head Start and Early Head Start program in Illinois are dual language learners, according to Morrison-Frichtl.

“Our standards always have been known as the gold standard,” Morrison-Frichtl said. “To total whitewash and get rid of them, really impacts the quality within our programs.”

Other new proposed requirements include a 5% cap on administrative expenses, down from 15%, new nutrition standards and a requirement for 30 minutes of physical activity — outside if the weather permits — for every three and a half hours of the program.

Head Start began in the 1960s as part of former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. The program was started by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s uncle Sargent Shriver.

In a call with reporters, Kennedy spoke reverently about Head Start and said he believes the program is effective, citing research showing its graduates have fewer law enforcement encounters, do better in school and have better jobs than their peers. He said he tried to shield Head Start from many of the cuts that hit the rest of his agency.

Still, the Trump administration last year laid off much of Head Start’s support staff and closed half of its regional offices, including the one in Chicago. That has led to delays in communication and support in Illinois for Head Start programs, according to Morrison-Frichtl.

Last year, the Illinois Head Start Association worked with the American Civil Liberties Union to file a lawsuit, alongside agencies from Washington, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Oregon, seeking to stop the Trump administration from defunding Head Start and shutting out families and children based on immigration status.

A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in the case, which permits programs in Illinois to continue to serve children regardless of immigration status and to implement diversity, equity and inclusion programs, according to Morrison-Frichtl. 

She said she doesn’t believe the state would be able to uphold Head Start standards on its own under the proposed changes because the model requires more funding and resources.

“We’ve had a rough 18 months, so this is just another challenge in the whole continuum of what’s been going on with federal programs and the attack on children and families in poverty,” Morrison-Frichtl said.

Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]

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