Editor’s note: This story is developing and will be updated.
Federal standards for how Head Start programs should operate would be significantly pared down under a proposed rule announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The move is designed to give states, local communities and families more autonomy to design their programs based on their needs, HHS officials said late Wednesday.
The reforms, which critics say would weaken the early childhood education program, aim to reduce federal red tape and what HHS officials called duplicative regulations. The 61-year-old Head Start program provides educational services along with health, nutrition and other supports to about 700,000 infants, toddlers and preschool children from low-income families each year.
