Cuts Proposed Again, But Congress has the Final Say

In April 2026, the White House released its fiscal year 2027 budget request, providing insight into the President’s priorities for the year ahead, including federal early education programs like the Head Start and the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). This proposal closely resembles the Administration’s FY26 priorities including cuts to ECE programs, all of which were not ultimately approved by Congress in its final budget thanks to the advocacy of early childhood educators across the country who made their voices heard during a tumultuous 2025.

As advocates consider the implications of the President’s budget proposal, it is important to remember that Congress holds the power of the purse and makes the final decision on funding levels for programs. Congress’ decision to preserve funding for the Preschool Development Grant (PDG) and the Child Care Access Means Parents in School program (CCAMPIS), while increasing funding for CCDBG and Head Start in FY26 was a clear example of the power of strong advocacy leading to positive outcomes and maintaining bipartisan support for early childhood education.

The White House’s FY27 budget request includes flat funding for CCDBG and Head Start a modest increase for IDEA Part C Early Intervention, the proposed elimination of PDG and CCAMPIS, and the consolidation of IDEA Part B (619) Preschool Special Education with other IDEA programs, threatening access for children with disabilities by eliminating dedicated funding for preschoolers. These programs are crucial for working families to access high-quality care and education for their children, including inclusive services for children with special needs and campus-based child care for student parents obtaining college degrees. Now is the time to tell Congress to protect and promote these programs and provide robust sustained funding to expand child care access to more families, support early childhood educator compensation, and build the supply of early education available to address the needs of families.

Head Start Policy Proposal a Cause for Concern

While Congress has ultimate control over the power of the purse, the Administration does have the power to make changes to program priorities and policies through federal rulemaking processes. The President’s budget proposal includes concerning language about one such proposal that could undermine Head Start program quality if it were to move forward, and we encourage the early education community to remain engaged as these proposals are being floated and shaped.

Here’s more on the proposed changes, what they could mean for Head Start, and what advocates should monitor as we elevate the potential impact on young children:

“The Budget maintains funding for Head Start at $12.4 billion and continues needed reforms by proposing to allow individual state standards to apply to programs, including licensing and monitoring standards, health and safety requirements, child-to-staff ratios, and definitions of quality. These reforms would allow the program to serve more children with the same level of funding.”

Proposed changes would allow state child care licensing standards to apply to Head Start programs, shifting away from regulations included in the program’s robust Program Performance Standards. The budget proposal specifically names rolling back important child-to-staff ratio and group size requirements that support the safety, wellbeing, and quality learning environments for young children in Head Start programs. Potential changes would also apply to licensing and monitoring standards, health and safety requirements, and definitions of quality, with the stated goal of “serving more children with the same level of funding.”

Disregarding Head Start Program Performance Standards for ratios and group sizes in particular would risk the quality of care and education provided by programs by lowering the standard as most state licensing systems have weaker child-to-staff ratio requirements than Head Start. For context, Early Head Start currently requires a 1:4 child-to-teacher ratio for classrooms serving children under 3 years of age, while five states have a 1:7 ratio and more than a dozen states follow a 1:6 ratio for classrooms serving 12–18-month-olds, and 11 allow ratios of 1:10 or more for classrooms serving children under 3. Only one state has stricter standards than Head Start with a 1:3 ratio for infants, meaning that in the vast majority of cases, moving to state requirements would reduce the opportunities for individualized attention and interactions children participating in Head Start would receive. This also risks standards being weakened further over time, as states continue to consider increased ratios in a misguided attempt to address the child care supply crisis – including an ultimately unsuccessful proposal in Idaho last year to completely eliminate child care ratios from statute.

In addition to the impacts on safety and quality, higher ratios are known to contribute to teacher stress in an occupation already burdened with high rates of burnout. And given the connection between burnout and educator turnover, the Administration’s proposal could worsen staff retention in Head Start programs.

Rather than roll back robust requirements that benefit young children, we urge the Administration to prioritize centering quality, health and safety, and compensation for a quality educator workforce in Head Start and child care programs across the country. And we urge Congress to increase investments in critically important ECE programs to expand the reach of high-quality, affordable early education to more families, increase compensation for early childhood educators, and build the supply of early care and education programs. Preserving the standards that lead to better outcomes for children and families is crucial for the families facing the most adversity and their ability to thrive and succeed.

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