Head Start Program Core Elements

Over its 60-year history, Head Start has adhered to essential quality components while continuously improving and refining its delivery of services through changes in both federal law and regulations.

To maintain the integrity of the Head Start program, organizations across the early learning landscape — including FFYF — have aligned around five Core Elements that are fundamental to the program’s continued effectiveness and impact.

Also featured on StandforHeadStart.org

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MARCH 2026 – Across the early learning landscape, the Head Start Program¹ is upheld as a benchmark for high quality early learning and care due to its commitment to a comprehensive, development-focused strategy, its approach to parent engagement, and its innovative local design.

A large body of research has found this unique program design to be highly effective, benefiting children and their families in both the short and long term.² In its 60-year history, Head Start has adhered to essential quality components and, as our understanding of best practices has evolved, continued to improve and refine delivery of services through changes in both federal law and regulations.

As the program continues to evolve, the following five elements will remain key to its integrity:

1. Prenatal–Five: Aligned with the most critical period of brain development, Head Start promotes school readiness by offering early learning and care from prenatal to age five, ensuring children receive consistent, developmentally-appropriate support as their needs evolve.
2. Comprehensive Services: Head Start pairs high-quality education with comprehensive services that support a child’s overall health and development and promote family stability and self-sufficiency, addressing the full range of factors that influence child and family well-being and creating the conditions for long-term success.
3. Family Engagement and Partnership: As their child’s first and best teacher, Head Start engages parents as partners in their child’s learning and in program operation and governance, while also providing them with the tools and resources they need to strengthen their families and enhance their children’s outcomes.
4. Community Driven: Local grantees design and deliver services based on their community’s specific needs and resources, allowing for flexibility and innovation while also ensuring geographic coverage across the state.
5. Support for Those with the Greatest Needs: This includes prioritizing children from families with the lowest incomes, children with disabilities, experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care. Head Start offers comprehensive early learning and family supports to those most removed from opportunity to help them succeed in school and in life.

The following national organizations stand in support of these Core Elements:

The following regional organizations stand in support of these Core Elements:

The following state organizations stand in support of these Core Elements:

Print Version

2026 Head Start NPRM

On August 7, 2026, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Head Start. The proposal would replace the current Head Start Program Performance Standards with a significantly shorter set of federal regulations, touching nearly every part of the program – from health and safety to staffing, eligibility, and governance.

Below are helpful resources from First Five Years Fund:

• FFYF State of Play:  A page with updates, context, timelines and resources around the August 2026 Head Start NPRM.
• FFYF Statement: A statement from FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling on the announcement of proposed changes to regulations governing Head Start.
• FFYF FAQs: Answers to questions asked by providers, parents and advocates about what the NPRM would mean, including what would change and what would stay the same.
• FFYF Searchable Guide: A line-by-line deep dive into the NPRM, with links to associated statute and regulations.
• Analysis: This list represents the proposed changes we believe require additional scrutiny or discussion, raise potential concerns, and could warrant official comment.
• The Core Elements of Head Start: A document highlighting the foundational pillars that define the Head Start program.

And here are links to original source materials, as located on the official federal government websites.  

• The Head Start Act: The federal law that authorizes and governs Head Start.
• Head Start Performance Standards: The full list of official performance standards that currently (pre-NPRM) shape Head Start.
• The Head Start NPRM: Released August 7, 2026, this contains proposed changes to Head Start rules and regulations.
• Public Comments: Interested individuals and organizations are invited to provide comments through the October 6, 2026 deadline.

Footnotes

1. Inclusive of Head Start Preschool, which serves children ages 3 to 5, Early Head Start, which supports infants, toddlers under age three, pregnant women, and their families, Migrant and Seasonal Head Start, and American Indian/Alaska Native Head Start. ↩︎
2. National Head Start Association, “Head Start’s Impact,” https://nhsa.org/about-nhsa/our-impact/. ↩︎