Senator Oliveira Leads Senate Push to Protect Head Start Standards: Lawmakers call on federal officials to withdraw proposed changes to education, health, and family supports

BOSTON — State Senator Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow) is leading an effort in the Massachusetts Senate urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to withdraw proposed changes to the Head Start Program Performance Standards, warning that the changes could undermine services relied upon by thousands of children and families across the Commonwealth.

In a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Oliveira and two dozen senators raised concerns about proposed changes affecting classroom standards, health and developmental screenings, services for children with disabilities, educator qualifications, program hours, and opportunities for parent involvement.

"For more than 60 years, Head Start has been about more than preparing children for the classroom. It recognizes that a child's ability to learn is connected to their health, their development, their family and the support system around them," said Oliveira. "We should be strengthening that model, not rolling back standards that help ensure children receive consistent, high-quality care."

Massachusetts is home to 28 Head Start agencies serving more than 10,000 young children and their families. Head Start combines early education with health, dental, nutrition, and family support services, including assistance for children whose needs may not be met through other programs.

The proposed federal rule would substantially revise the Head Start Program Performance Standards. The changes identified in the senators' letter include removing or reducing federal requirements governing teacher-child ratios and group sizes, program operating hours, vision and hearing screenings, developmental screenings, staff qualifications and supports, services for children with disabilities and developmental delays, and practices supporting dual-language learners and their families.

The letter argues that while individual changes could have significant consequences, senators are particularly concerned about their cumulative impact on the comprehensive model that has defined Head Start for generations.

"When you start pulling away health screenings, classroom standards, supports for educators and protections for children with greater needs, you risk changing the very foundation of what has made Head Start successful," Oliveira said. "These are children at a critical point in their development, and the federal government should not be lowering the floor beneath them."

The senators also pointed to the Head Start Act, which requires the HHS Secretary to ensure revisions to program standards do not reduce the quality, scope, or types of services Head Start programs provide. "

“Head Start has served generations of Massachusetts families, and we have a responsibility to make sure it is there for the next generation,” Oliveira said. "I'm asking HHS to listen to the educators, families and providers who know this program firsthand and preserve strong standards for the children who depend on it."