Searchable Guide: 2026 Head Start NPRM
On August 7, 2026, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) (which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services) 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 you’ll find searchable data highlighting the contents of the NPRM, including what would change, what would stay the same, and what would still be required under the Head Start Act. For more information, see our Frequently Asked Questions and our State of Play with more details on the process and comment period.
| Category* | Topic | Regulation Detail | Status* | Status Explanation | Current Citation | Proposed Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governance | Purpose (governance) | Introductory provision states the purpose of the governance subpart. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not apply to this purely introductory, non-substantive provision. | § 1301.1 | No replacement proposed |
| Governance | Governing body | Establishes and describes the Governing Body – its role, responsibilities, and composition requirements. | Statute Stands | The Act requires the Governing Body to reflect the community and include parents of children who are currently, or were formerly, enrolled. | § 1301.2 | No replacement proposed |
| Governance | Policy council and policy committee | Establishes and describes the Policy Council and Policy Committee – their roles, responsibilities, and composition requirements. | Statute Stands | ▪ The Act directly requires these structures (Sec. 642(c)-(d)) regardless of this regulation. ▪ Policy Council’s core membership must be parents of currently enrolled children, elected by them. ▪ At-large community members – who may include parents of formerly enrolled children – are a separate, additional category. | § 1301.3 | No replacement proposed |
| Governance | Parent committees | ▪ Sets requirements for a parent committee at each center, established through bylaws, election procedures, and defined terms. ▪ Establishes parent committee responsibilities including: – advising staff on local program policies and activities, – serving as the formal communication channel to the Policy Council/ Policy Committee, and – participating in staff recruitment and screening. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1301.4 | § 1301.01 |
| Governance | Training (governance) | Requires agencies to provide the governing body and policy council with training and technical assistance or orientation on program performance standards, including the eligibility training specified at § 1302.12(m), which must be provided within 180 days of a new governing body or policy council’s term. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s general governance provisions (Sec. 642 (c)-(d)) impose an ongoing duty. ▪ The training requirement is removed. | § 1301.5 | No replacement proposed |
| Governance | Impasse procedures | Establishes the process for resolving governance impasses (disputes between the governing body and policy council). | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1301.6 | No replacement proposed |
| Governance | Grant recipient responsibility and accountability (delegate agencies) | Establishes the framework describing a grant recipient’s overall responsibility and accountability when using delegate agencies. | Statute Stands | The Act’s delegate-agency framework (Sec. 641A(d), 642(a)) sets the underlying responsibility and accountability requirements. | § 1303.30 | No replacement proposed |
| Governance | Determining and establishing delegate agencies | ▪ Requires a grant recipient to determine whether an agreement with another entity meets the Act’s definition of “delegate agency.” ▪ Prohibits awarding federal funds to a delegate agency without a written agreement approved in advance by the responsible HHS official. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s delegate-agency provisions (Sec. 637(3), 641A(d), 642(a)) require agencies to have procedures for establishing delegate agencies. ▪ The process implementing the requirement is removed. | § 1303.31 | No replacement proposed |
| Governance | Evaluations and corrective actions for delegate agencies | Requires grant recipients to evaluate delegate agencies and ensure corrective action, consistent with section 641A(d) of the Act. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act requires agencies to have procedures for evaluating delegate agencies and addressing deficiencies (Sec. 641A(d)). ▪ The detail implementing the requirement is removed. | § 1303.32 | No replacement proposed |
| Governance | Termination of delegate agencies | ▪ Allows a grant recipient to terminate a delegate agency’s contract for cause or demonstrated cost-effectiveness. ▪ Prohibits arbitrary or capricious termination decisions. ▪ Requires a fair, timely defunding and appeal process with notice to HHS. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act constrains when and how a Head Start agency may terminate a delegate agency (Sec. 641A(d)). ▪ The procedure implementing that requirement is removed. | § 1303.33 | No replacement proposed |
| Eligibility & Enrollment | Overview (ERSEA) | Introductory provision states the overview of the eligibility / recruitment / selection / enrollment / attendance subpart. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not apply to this purely introductory, non-substantive provision. | § 1302.1 | No replacement proposed |
| Eligibility & Enrollment | Purpose (community strengths, needs, and resources) | Introductory provision states the purpose of the community strengths, needs, and resources section. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not apply to this purely introductory, non-substantive provision. | § 1302.10 | No replacement proposed |
| Eligibility & Enrollment | Determining community strengths, needs, and resources | Specifies what a program’s community needs assessment must contain, how often it must be updated, and how it must be used, including the requirement to propose a service area. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The NPRM preamble states “The Act clearly requires use of a community needs assessment, and the Act addresses both how programs and the Secretary should use it.” ▪ Several expressed statutory duties presuppose a community needs assessment: sharing updates with the governing body (Sec. 642(d)(2)(G)), the policy council taking the “annual” assessment into account (Sec. 642(c)), service-conversion applications (Sec. 645(a)(4)), monitoring review (Sec. 641A(c)(2)(D)), and technical assistance planning (Sec. 642(h)). ▪ The content and frequency standard is removed. | § 1302.11 | No replacement proposed |
| Eligibility & Enrollment | Determining, verifying, and documenting eligibility – core process | ▪ Governs how programs determine, verify, and document eligibility. Including: – categorical eligibility for foster children and homeless children, – documentation for public assistance, – income verification, and – re-verification when a child moves from Early Head Start to Preschool. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act directly deems homeless children eligible (Sec. 645(a)(1)(B)(ii)); that guarantee continues regardless of this regulation. Foster children’s categorical eligibility rests on longstanding regulatory interpretation, not a specific statutory clause naming foster care. ▪ The specific process detail for verifying and documenting eligibility – income verification methods, public-assistance documentation, and re-verification timing – is removed. | § 1302.12 | § 1301.02 |
| Eligibility & Enrollment | Determining, verifying, and documenting eligibility – self-attestation eliminated | Current regulation allows self-attestation – including a signed declaration – as an acceptable method of verifying eligibility, particularly for families experiencing homelessness who lack standard documentation such as a lease or utility bill. | New Requirement | ▪ Proposed § 1301.02(c)(4) specifies that self-attestation would no longer satisfy eligibility requirements. ▪ The Act does not require or prohibit a specific verification method; this stricter proof standard is not found in current regulation or the Act. | § 1302.12 | § 1301.02 |
| Eligibility & Enrollment | Determining, verifying, and documenting eligibility – mandatory staff-violation reporting | Current regulation (§ 1302.12(l)) gives programs the flexibility to determine their own policies and procedures for addressing staff violations of eligibility-determination rules. | New Requirement | ▪ Proposed § 1301.02(f) would newly require programs to report staff who violate eligibility-determination regulations to their OHS Regional Office point of contact, replacing the current program-level flexibility. ▪ The Act does not require this reporting mandate – it is not found in current regulation or the Act. | § 1302.12 | § 1301.02 |
| Eligibility & Enrollment | Recruitment of children | Sets the specific steps programs must follow for recruiting children, including targeted efforts for children with disabilities, homelessness, and foster care. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act requires programs to have recruitment procedures in general terms. ▪ The process is removed. | § 1302.13 | No replacement proposed |
| Eligibility & Enrollment | Selection process | ▪ Sets requirements for annually establishing selection criteria – weighing income, homelessness, foster care status, age, IDEA eligibility, and other factors, plus Tribal and migrant/seasonal priority rules. ▪ Implements the Act’s requirement that at least 10% of funded enrollment be filled by children eligible under IDEA. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act requires programs to have selection criteria in general terms and sets the 10% IDEA enrollment target. ▪ The process for both is removed. ▪ The preamble states it “expect[s] guidance” on the 10% requirement to follow separately, outside the normal rulemaking process. | § 1302.14 | No replacement proposed |
| Eligibility & Enrollment | Enrollment | ▪ Sets detailed requirements for pursuing enrollment continuity and streamlining the enrollment experience. ▪ Layered on top of the Act’s requirement that programs enroll 100% of funded enrollment and maintain an active waitlist. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act requires programs to enroll 100% of funded enrollment and maintain an active waitlist (Sec. 642(g)). ▪ The process for pursuing enrollment continuity is removed. | § 1302.15 | § 1301.03 |
| Eligibility & Enrollment | Attendance | Requires programs to track attendance and follow specific responsive procedures, including contacting a family within one hour of an unexpected absence and structured re-engagement procedures when attendance drops. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act requires programs to share accurate enrollment and attendance information with the governing body and policy council (Sec. 642(d)(2)(C)). ▪ The procedural detail for responding to and analyzing absences is removed. | § 1302.16 | § 1301.03 |
| Eligibility & Enrollment | Suspension and expulsion | ▪ Limits suspending a child for behavior, ▪ Prohibits expulsion, and ▪ Requires consultation with a mental health professional before any suspension. | Regulation Removed | ▪ The Act has a narrow requirement that Early Head Start programs screen and refer children with documented behavioral problems. ▪ The Act has no general suspension/expulsion provision for Head Start Preschool. | § 1302.17 | No replacement proposed |
| Eligibility & Enrollment | Fees | Restatement of the Act’s prohibition on charging program fees. | Statute Stands | ▪ The Act directly prohibits the Secretary from establishing a fee schedule for Head Start participation. ▪ Narrow exceptions exist for voluntary full-cost payment and certain extended-day co-payments. | § 1302.18 | No replacement proposed |
| Eligibility & Enrollment | Determining program structure | Sets the process for determining program structure – center-based, home-based, family child care, or a combination. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s program-option definitions and conversion authority independently govern this determination. ▪ The specific regulatory process for determining program structure is removed, with no replacement provision. | § 1302.20 | No replacement proposed |
| Program Requirements & Service Delivery | Center-based option | ▪ Group size and ratios: – Sets specific federal group-size and staff-child ratio numbers for center-based programs (for example, no more than 8 infants/toddlers per 2 teachers). – Sets square-footage and space-arrangement requirements. – Sets 40:1 family-partnership staff ratio. ▪ Duration: – Requires a 3.5-hour daily minimum for Head Start Preschool (128–160 days/year). – Requires 1,380 annual hours for Early Head Start center-based programs. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ Group size/ratio: The Head Start Act has never set ratio numbers – they exist only in regulation – so the ratio/group-size floor being removed has no independent statutory basis. ▪ Separately, the Act’s “ratchet clause” (42 U.S.C. § 9836a(a)(2)(C)(ii)) can be read to bar revisions that reduce the quality, scope, or types of services required as of December 12, 2007. If group size and staff-child ratios fall within that protection, current requirements would predate the baseline; the NPRM’s preamble does not address the clause either way. ▪ Duration: Sec. 640(k)(1) directly authorizes the 3-hour/1994-levels reversion for Preschool, so that figure is statutorily grounded. ▪ For Early Head Start, the Act’s “early, continuous, intensive, and comprehensive” services standard (Sec. 645A(b)(1)) continues to apply, though ACF’s full-day/year-round interpretation – reflected in the 1,380-hour figure – is not itself codified as an hour count. | § 1302.21 | § 1301.05 |
| Program Requirements & Service Delivery | Home-based option | ▪ Sets specific requirements for the home-based option including: – home visitor caseloads (10–12 families per home visitor, maximum 12), – minimum home-visit frequency, – group socialization requirements, and – make-up-visit procedures. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act requires Early Head Start programs to provide continuous, comprehensive services. ▪ Specific caseload and visit-frequency requirements are removed. | § 1302.22 | No replacement proposed |
| Program Requirements & Service Delivery | Family child care option | ▪ Sets a 1,380-hour annual minimum for the family child care option. ▪ Requires programs to partner with a child development specialist. | Regulation Removed | ▪ The Act recognizes and defines this program option (Sec. 637). ▪ The Act does not itself set an hours requirement or a child-development-specialist requirement, so neither has independent statutory basis. | § 1302.23 | No replacement proposed |
| Program Requirements & Service Delivery | Locally-designed program option variations | ▪ Allows programs to request to operate a locally-designed option to meet community needs. ▪ Subject to specific requirements governing ratios, group size, and duration within that option. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s locally-designed-option authority (Sec. 640(f)(1)) independently governs this option. ▪ The specific ratio, group-size, and duration limits are removed. | § 1302.24 | § 1301.18 |
| Curriculum & Language | Purpose (education and child development) | Introductory provision states the purpose of the education and child development subpart. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not apply to this purely introductory, non-substantive provision. | § 1302.30 | No replacement proposed |
| Curriculum & Language | Teaching and the learning environment – home language support | ▪ Requires programs to support a child’s home language alongside English for dual language learners (§ 1302.31(b)(2)). ▪ Sets other detailed teaching-practice and learning-environment standards. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s requirement for children with limited English proficiency (Sec. 641A(a)(1)(B)(x)) calls for progress toward English acquisition while also making meaningful progress in other developmental domains – a dual-progress standard that does not itself mandate a specific instructional-language approach. ▪ The specific requirement to support a child’s home language alongside English is removed. | § 1302.31 | § 1301.04 |
| Curriculum & Language | Teaching and the learning environment – English-only instruction mandate | Current regulation does not require instruction to be conducted exclusively in English. | New Requirement | ▪ Proposed § 1301.04(a) would newly require instruction to be conducted in English, with an exception for Tribal grantees incorporating Tribal languages tied to Tribal heritage. ▪ The Act does not require or prohibit English-only instruction. | § 1302.31 | § 1301.04 |
| Curriculum & Language | Curricula | Requires that programs use a standardized, research-based curriculum aligned to specified developmental domains. | Statute Stands | The Act itself requires Head Start agencies to implement a standardized, research-based curriculum (Sec. 642(f)(3)). | § 1302.32 | No replacement proposed |
| Curriculum & Language | Child screenings and assessments | Sets process requirements for conducting and using child screenings and ongoing developmental assessments. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act requires programs to conduct screenings and set measurable goals for services in general terms. ▪ The process for how and when is removed. | § 1302.33 | No replacement proposed |
| Curriculum & Language | Parent and family engagement in education and child development services – parent engagement strategies | ▪ Requires programs to structure education services to recognize parents as children’s primary teachers. ▪ Implement family-engagement strategies, including father-engagement strategies. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act authorizes and encourages family-strengthening activities in general terms (Sec. 642(b)); that general basis continues to apply regardless of this regulation. ▪ The specific requirement to structure education services around recognizing parents as primary teachers and implementing family/father-engagement strategies is removed. | § 1302.34 | § 1301.06 |
| Curriculum & Language | Parent and family engagement in education and child development services – healthy marriage instructional content | Current regulation does not require “healthy marriage” instructional material as part of education services. | New Requirement | ▪ The proposed rule would newly incorporate “healthy marriage” instructional material into family-engagement content. ▪ The Act does not identify this content as a statutory requirement – it is not found in current regulation or the Act. | § 1302.34 | § 1301.06 |
| Curriculum & Language | Education in home-based programs | Sets requirements for home-based program design, instructional activities during home visits, curriculum adaptation, and group socialization structure. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1302.35 | No replacement proposed |
| Curriculum & Language | Tribal language preservation and revitalization | Allows programs serving American Indian and Alaska Native children to integrate tribal-language preservation, revitalization, and restoration efforts into program services, including full immersion in the tribal language for the majority of class time. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ This exemption is tied to the Act’s Tribal consultation and self-determination provisions (Sec. 641(c)(7)(B), 641(e)), which continue to apply regardless of this regulation. ▪ The specific regulatory detail describing Tribal language preservation and revitalization methods is removed from this section, with a shorter provision proposed at § 1301.17(d). | § 1302.36 | § 1301.17(d) |
| Health & Safety | Purpose (health program services) | Introductory provision states the purpose of the health program services subpart. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not apply to this purely introductory, non-substantive provision. | § 1302.40 | No replacement proposed |
| Health & Safety | Collaboration and communication with parents (health) | Sets requirements for how programs collaborate and communicate with parents on health matters. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s general family-engagement provisions (Sec. 642(b)) independently require this collaboration in general terms. ▪ The specific requirements for how programs collaborate and communicate with parents on health matters are removed. | § 1302.41 | No replacement proposed |
| Health & Safety | Child health status and care | ▪ Sets a 90-day deadline for medical, oral, and mental health screenings and a 45-day deadline for vision and hearing screenings. ▪ Sets detailed requirements for tracking and following up on children’s health status. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act requires programs to conduct screenings, but does not set the specific federal timeline; Medicaid’s EPSDT benefit independently continues to guarantee periodic screenings for Medicaid-eligible children (most Head Start children) regardless of this rule. ▪ The specific 90-day (medical/oral/mental health) and 45-day (vision/hearing) screening deadlines, along with the detailed tracking and follow-up requirements, are removed. | § 1302.42 | No replacement proposed |
| Health & Safety | Oral health practices | Requires programs to assist children with daily tooth-brushing using fluoride toothpaste. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1302.43 | No replacement proposed |
| Health & Safety | Child nutrition | ▪ Requires programs to use USDA Child Nutrition programs (including CACFP) as the primary funding source for meals. ▪ Requires programs to serve nutrient-dense, whole foods conforming to USDA’s CACFP meal-pattern requirements. | Statute Stands | This provision’s durability comes from USDA’s own CACFP program rules (7 CFR Part 226), independent of anything in the Head Start Act or this NPRM. | § 1302.44 | § 1301.04(b) |
| Health & Safety | Supports for mental health and well-being | ▪ Requires mental health consultation at least once a month. ▪ Requires a Health and Mental Health Services Advisory Committee. ▪ Sets an advance authorization for certain procedures. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ Early Head Start programs have a general statutory duty to coordinate health and mental health services. ▪ The minimum frequency and advisory-committee requirement are removed. | § 1302.45 | No replacement proposed |
| Health & Safety | Family support services for health, nutrition, and mental health | Requires structured family health-navigation support, including health-care determinations and insurance facilitation. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act requires programs to establish goals and measurable objectives for health and nutrition services in general terms (Sec. 642(f)(9)). ▪ The health-care determinations, insurance facilitation, and family health navigation requirements are removed. | § 1302.46 | § 1301.08 |
| Health & Safety | Safety practices | Sets detailed requirements covering facilities, equipment and materials, safety training, hygiene practices, administrative safety procedures, and disaster preparedness. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act does not require this level of facilities, equipment, training, hygiene, or disaster-preparedness detail. ▪ State and local licensing requirements independently apply. | § 1302.47 | § 1301.09 |
| Health & Safety | Enrolled pregnant women | ▪ Requires a newborn visit scheduled within two weeks of birth. ▪ Requires referral-based comprehensive supports, including nutritional counseling and food assistance. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act requires family involvement services in general terms (Sec. 642(b)). ▪ The visit schedule is removed. | § 1302.80 | § 1301.11(a) |
| Health & Safety | Prenatal and postpartum information, education, and services | Requires programs to provide prenatal and postpartum information and education, covering fetal development, nutrition, substance use risks, labor and delivery, and infant care and safe sleep. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s general family-involvement requirement (Sec. 642(b)) applied to this population. ▪ The specific content list is removed. | § 1302.81 | § 1301.11(b) |
| Health & Safety | Family partnership services for enrolled pregnant women | ▪ Requires family partnership services tailored to enrolled pregnant women. ▪ Includes tracking all services provided and addressing racial/ethnic disparities in birth outcomes. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s general family-involvement requirement (Sec. 642(b)) applies to this population. ▪ The service-tracking and disparity-monitoring mandates are removed. | § 1302.82 | No replacement proposed |
| Health & Safety | Vehicles | ▪ Requires vehicles used to transport enrolled children to be school buses or allowable alternate vehicles. ▪ Requires vehicles are equipped with height- and weight-appropriate child restraint systems and reverse beepers. ▪ Sets equipment and inspection requirements. ▪ Requires an annual safety inspection plus daily pre-trip checks. | Regulation Removed | ▪ The Act does not require detailed federal vehicle standards. ▪ State and local transportation and licensing law independently applies. | § 1303.71 | § 1301.09 |
| Health & Safety | Vehicle operation | ▪ Sets requirements for vehicle operation during transportation services. ▪ Requires at least one bus monitor present at all times. | Regulation Removed | ▪ The Act does not identify the bus-monitor requirement or other vehicle-operation detail as statutory. ▪ State and local transportation law independently applies. | § 1303.72 | No replacement proposed |
| Health & Safety | Trip routing | ▪ Requires programs to plan transportation routes with child safety as the priority. ▪ Sets a one-hour cap on a child’s time in transit (absent a shorter route). ▪ Sets maximum-capacity limits. ▪ Sets restrictions on backing up, U-turns, and street crossings at stops. | Regulation Removed | ▪ The Act does not require specific federal trip-routing and capacity standards. | § 1303.73 | No replacement proposed |
| Health & Safety | Safety procedures (transportation) | ▪ Requires programs to teach children safe riding and boarding practices and danger-zone awareness. ▪ Requires at least three emergency evacuation drills per program year, including one drill on the vehicle the child will ride. | Regulation Removed | ▪ The Act does not require specific federal transportation safety-procedure standards. | § 1303.74 | No replacement proposed |
| Health & Safety | Children with disabilities (transportation) | ▪ Requires programs to have school buses or alternate vehicles adapted for children with disabilities as needed. ▪ Requires programs to follow any transportation-related requirements in a child’s IEP or IFSP, including pick-up/drop-off, seating, equipment, and staff-training needs. | Regulation Removed | ▪ The Act does not require this transportation-specific disability accommodation detail. ▪ The Act’s general disability-services requirements, addressed elsewhere, independently apply. | § 1303.75 | No replacement proposed |
| Family & Community Engagement | Family engagement | ▪ Requires programs to integrate parent and family engagement strategies into all systems and services, including: – recognizing parents as children’s primary teachers, – structuring two-way communication, – delivering services in a family’s preferred language, and – offering opportunities for parents to participate as employees or volunteers. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s general family-involvement requirements (Sec. 642(b)) independently apply. ▪ The requirements for family engagement activities are removed. | § 1302.50 | No replacement proposed |
| Family & Community Engagement | Parent activities to promote child learning and development | ▪ Requires programs to implement family engagement strategies that build parents’ confidence and skills in supporting their child’s learning, including: – offering a research-based parenting curriculum and – providing information for dual-language-learner families on the benefits of bilingualism. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s general family-involvement requirements independently apply. ▪ The requirements for parent activities supporting child learning are removed. | § 1302.51 | No replacement proposed |
| Family & Community Engagement | Family partnership services | Sets requirements for family partnership services, including a 40:1 family-to-staff caseload ratio for staff conducting the family partnership process. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s general family-involvement requirements independently apply. ▪ The requirements for family partnership services – including the 40:1 family-to-staff caseload ratio – are removed. | § 1302.52 | No replacement proposed |
| Family & Community Engagement | Community partnerships and coordination with other early childhood and education programs | Sets requirements for community partnerships and coordination, including the expectation that programs participate in state Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS). | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s general community-collaboration requirements (Sec. 642(e)) independently apply. ▪ The requirements for community partnerships and coordination – including the expectation that programs participate in state QRIS – are removed. | § 1302.53 | No replacement proposed |
| Family & Community Engagement | Full participation in program services and activities | Sets detailed requirements ensuring children with disabilities can fully participate in program services and activities. | Statute Stands | The Act’s disability-rights and accommodation requirements, along with federal disability law (the ADA and Section 504), independently apply. | § 1302.60 | § 1301.10 |
| Family & Community Engagement | Additional services for children | Sets requirements for additional services to children beyond core program services. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s general service requirements independently apply. ▪ The specific requirements for additional services to children beyond core program services are removed. | § 1302.61 | No replacement proposed |
| Family & Community Engagement | Additional services for parents | Requires programs to help parents of children with disabilities access services and resources, and for parents of children eligible under IDEA, to understand referral and evaluation timelines, participate in the IFSP/IEP process, and ensure their child’s needs are addressed in that plan. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s general family-involvement requirements independently apply. ▪ The specific requirements for additional services to parents are removed. | § 1302.62 | No replacement proposed |
| Family & Community Engagement | Coordination and collaboration with the local agency responsible for implementing IDEA | Requires programs to coordinate with the local IDEA agency to identify potentially eligible children, develop interagency agreements to improve service delivery, participate in developing or reviewing a child’s IFSP or IEP, and retain a copy of the IFSP or IEP while the child is enrolled. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s IDEA-coordination requirement (Sec. 642(e)(3)) independently applies. ▪ The specific requirements for coordinating with the local IDEA agency are removed from this section. ▪ IDEA coordination is addressed under the proposed disability-services provision instead. | § 1302.63 | No replacement proposed |
| Family & Community Engagement | Transitions from Early Head Start | ▪ Requires Early Head Start programs to begin transition planning at least six months before a child’s third birthday, accounting for the child’s developmental and health status and family circumstances. ▪ Requires the program to collaborate with parents on transition strategies as the child moves to Head Start Preschool or another program. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act requires EHS programs to develop a systematic transition procedure (Sec. 645A). ▪ The specific regulatory detail governing a child’s transition from Early Head Start is removed. | § 1302.70 | No replacement proposed |
| Family & Community Engagement | Transitions from Head Start Preschool to Kindergarten | ▪ Requires programs to implement kindergarten-transition strategies, including: – helping parents understand their child’s progress and advocate for their child, – coordinating with local education agencies and kindergarten teachers, and – transferring children’s records to the receiving school. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s transition-support requirements (Sec. 642A) independently apply. ▪ The detail governing a child’s transition to kindergarten is removed. | § 1302.71 | No replacement proposed |
| Family & Community Engagement | Transitions between programs | Requires programs to support transitions for children and families who move out of the service community – including families experiencing homelessness and children in foster care – to another Head Start program or, if unavailable, another suitable early childhood program. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s general coordination requirement (Sec. 642(e)(3)) independently applies. ▪ The detail governing transitions between early childhood programs is removed. | § 1302.72 | No replacement proposed |
| Staffing & Qualifications | Personnel policies – background checks, work authorization, and standards of conduct | ▪ Requires programs to have: – background-check, – work-authorization, and – standards-of-conduct policies, including a completed criminal background check before hire, reviewed against CCDF disqualification factors. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ Sec. 648A of the Act directly requires Head Start agencies to obtain a state, tribal, or federal criminal record check for all staff members prior to employment; this requirement continues regardless of the regulation. ▪ The specific work-authorization verification procedures and detailed standards-of-conduct policies are removed. | § 1302.90 | § 1301.12 |
| Staffing & Qualifications | Personnel policies – abuse/neglect definitions and training | ▪ Defines corporal punishment, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect with behavioral examples. ▪ Requires staff to receive annual training on recognizing and reporting them. | Regulation Removed | ▪ The Act does not identify these definitions or the training requirement as statutory. ▪ Current regulation’s definitions draw on the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA, 42 U.S.C. 5101 note), though CAPTA does not itself impose this training or definitional requirement on program staff. ▪ The underlying legal duty to report suspected abuse rests on state, tribal, and local mandatory-reporter law – which current regulation cross-references – not on this regulation or the Head Start Act. ▪ That reporting duty continues regardless of what happens to these regulatory definitions. | § 1302.90 | § 1301.12 |
| Staffing & Qualifications | Personnel policies – postsecondary-credential hiring restriction | Current regulation does not address postsecondary-credential requirements in hiring. | New Requirement | ▪ The proposed rule would newly bar programs from requiring or favoring a postsecondary credential in hiring unless the program can justify the requirement. ▪ The Act does not identify this restriction as a statutory requirement – it is not found in current regulation or the Act. | § 1302.90 | § 1301.12 |
| Staffing & Qualifications | Staff qualifications and competency requirements | Sets qualification standards for Head Start directors, fiscal officers, education managers, assistant teachers, family child care providers, home visitors, family services staff, health professionals, and coaches. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act sets qualification targets directly for a narrower set of positions – a CDA credential for Early Head Start teachers, and a nationwide target that at least half of Preschool teachers hold a bachelor’s degree – which remain legally binding by statute. ▪ The implementing regulation is removed. | § 1302.91 | No replacement proposed |
| Staffing & Qualifications | Training and professional development | ▪ Requires an annual professional development structure and coaching strategy for education staff. ▪ Requires the content include orientation, social/emotional development training, a structured coaching-assessment process, and annual abuse/neglect-reporting training. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act requires at least 15 clock hours of professional development annually for classroom teachers; that specific number remains legally binding. ▪ The broader training content requirements are removed. | § 1302.92 | No replacement proposed |
| Staffing & Qualifications | Staff health and wellness | Sets requirements for staff health and wellness, including staff breaks, staff health exams, and provision of mental health information to staff. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not identify staff breaks, staff health exams, or provision of mental health information to staff as statutory requirements. | § 1302.93 | No replacement proposed |
| Staffing & Qualifications | Volunteers | ▪ Requires programs to screen volunteers for communicable diseases per state, tribal, or local law (or, absent such law, in consultation with the Health and Mental Health Services Advisory Committee). ▪ Prohibits ever leaving a child alone with a volunteer. | Regulation Removed | ▪ The Act does not identify specific volunteer screening and supervision detail as a statutory requirement. ▪ State and local requirements for volunteers working with children continue to apply. | § 1302.94 | No replacement proposed |
| Staffing & Qualifications | Establishing procedures (confidentiality) | Requires programs to establish procedures protecting the confidentiality of personally identifiable information in child records. | Statute Stands | The Act’s confidentiality requirement (Sec. 641A(b)(4)(A)) independently applies. | § 1303.20 | § 1301.12(b) |
| Staffing & Qualifications | Program procedures – applicable confidentiality provisions | ▪ Specifies that FERPA confidentiality provisions apply instead of this subpart for programs that are educational agencies receiving Department of Education funds. ▪ Applies IDEA’s confidentiality provisions for children referred to, or found eligible for, IDEA services. | Statute Stands | The Act’s confidentiality requirement independently applies. | § 1303.21 | § 1301.12(b) |
| Staffing & Qualifications | Disclosures with, and without, parental consent | ▪ Sets requirements for disclosing personally identifiable information from child records, including: – obtaining signed, dated written parental consent for most disclosures, and – lists specific circumstances – such as audits, health emergencies, court orders, and suspected-abuse reporting – where disclosure without consent is permitted. | Statute Stands | The Act’s confidentiality requirement independently applies. | § 1303.22 | § 1301.12(b) |
| Staffing & Qualifications | Parental rights | ▪ Gives parents the right to – inspect child records within 45 days of a request, – to request correction of inaccurate or misleading information, – to a hearing if a correction request is denied, and – to a free copy of records disclosed to third parties. | Statute Stands | The Act’s confidentiality requirement independently applies. | § 1303.23 | § 1301.12(b) |
| Staffing & Qualifications | Maintaining records | ▪ Requires programs to: – limit access to child records to parents and program officials, – destroy records within a reasonable time after they are no longer needed, and – maintain a log of every disclosure of personally identifiable information and its purpose. | Statute Stands | The Act’s confidentiality requirement independently applies. | § 1303.24 | § 1301.12(b) |
| Monitoring & Designation | Purpose (management systems) | Introductory provision states the purpose of the management systems subpart. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not apply to this purely introductory, non-substantive provision. | § 1302.100 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Management system | Requires programs to provide management, ongoing monitoring, and a continuous-improvement process for achieving program goals that ensures child safety and effective, high-quality service delivery. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act’s broader accountability framework (e.g., Sec. 641A, 642) points toward an ongoing management obligation, though the Act does not itself use the term “management system.” ▪ The specific regulatory framework for management systems is removed. | § 1302.101 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Program goals, continuous improvement, and reporting | ▪ Requires programs to: – set measurable goals, – conduct self-assessments, – report findings to HHS, – report significant incidents within 7 days, and – aggregate and analyze child-level assessment data at specified intervals, including subgroup analysis. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The Act requires programs to set measurable goals, conduct self-assessments, and report to HHS in general terms (Sec. 641A(e)(2), 641A(g), 642(c)(2)(A), 642(d)(2), 644(a)(2)). ▪ The specific data-aggregation and subgroup-analysis requirements are removed. | § 1302.102 | § 1301.13 |
| Monitoring & Designation | Purpose (monitoring/designation) | ▪ States the purpose of the monitoring and designation subpart. ▪ Cites the Secretary’s general monitoring/designation authority. | Statute Stands | The Act’s monitoring authority continues regardless of this regulation. | § 1304.1 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Monitoring | ▪ Requires ACF to notify a grant recipient in writing of any area of noncompliance with Parts 1301-1303 identified through monitoring. ▪ Requires ACF to inform the recipient of any deficiency, which the recipient must then correct or address through an ACF-approved quality improvement plan. | Statute Stands | ▪ ACF is statutorily required to conduct monitoring reviews at least once during each three-year period (Sec. 641A(c), 637(2)(C), 641A(e)). ▪ ACF must inform grant recipients of identified deficiencies and require correction. | § 1304.2 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Suspension with notice | ▪ Sets the notice-and-show-cause process for suspending a grant recipient’s financial assistance, including: – required notice contents, – the recipient’s right to an informal meeting and to submit written material, – a decision within five days, and – a 30-day cap on the suspension absent specified exceptions. | Statute Stands | ▪ ACF is authorized under the Act (Sec. 646(a)(5)) to suspend financial assistance for up to 30 days (longer in limited circumstances) after providing notice and an opportunity to show cause. ▪ The Act itself sets the outer bounds of this authority, so specific procedural detail beyond it is a regulatory, not statutory, choice. | § 1304.3 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Emergency suspension without advance notice | ▪ Allows ACF to suspend financial assistance immediately, without prior notice, for emergencies such as: – risk of injury to property, – loss of funds, – a criminal law violation, or – a threat to health and safety. ▪ Requires a post-suspension notice and an opportunity for the recipient to request a meeting. | Statute Stands | ACF is authorized under the Act (Sec. 646(a)(5)) to suspend financial assistance without prior notice in emergency situations (risk to property, misuse of funds, criminal violations, threats to health/safety). | § 1304.4 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Termination and denial of refunding | Sets procedural detail for terminating financial assistance or denying refunding, including the right to appeal within 30 days and receive a hearing within 120 days. | Statute Stands | ▪ ACF is authorized under the Act (Sec. 646(3), 646(a)(1)) to terminate financial assistance or deny refunding after notice and a hearing. ▪ Grant recipients retain the statutory right to appeal. ▪ Specific procedural detail beyond these statutory protections is a regulatory, not statutory, choice. | § 1304.5 | § 1301.19 |
| Monitoring & Designation | Appeal for prospective delegate agencies | Sets the appeal process for prospective delegate agencies, including the right to appeal a Head Start agency’s denial or inaction on a funding application within 30 days (or 120 days after inaction), with a required response within 30 days. | Statute Stands | The Act’s appeal rights for prospective delegate agencies (Sec. 646(a)(1)) continue to apply regardless of this regulation. | § 1304.6 | § 1301.19 |
| Monitoring & Designation | Legal fees | Restates the Act’s rules on legal fees for appeals of termination, reduction, or denial decisions. | Statute Stands | ▪ The Act prohibits charging legal fees for appealing termination/reduction/denial decisions to the grant. ▪ The Act separately authorizes ACF to reimburse reasonable legal fees if the grant recipient prevails. ▪ Both statutory rules continue to apply regardless of this regulation. | § 1304.7 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Purpose and scope (designation renewal) | Introductory provision states the purpose and scope of the designation renewal subpart. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not apply to this purely introductory, non-substantive provision. | § 1304.10 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Basis for determining whether a Head Start agency will be subject to an open competition | ▪ Lists the reasons a program can be required to compete for renewed funding, including: – numeric classroom-quality thresholds using the CLASS: Pre-K tool with defined score cutoffs, – a detailed school-readiness-goals checklist, and – a combined fiscal condition covering going-concern risk and audit findings. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ The classroom-quality and school-readiness-goals conditions are tied to the Act’s monitoring and quality-assessment provisions (Sec. 641(c)(1)(D), 641A(c)(2)(F), 641A(g)(2)), which require quality to be assessed using a valid, reliable observational instrument. ▪ The specific numeric thresholds and/or detailed goals checklist are removed. | § 1304.11 | § 1301.16 |
| Monitoring & Designation | Grant recipient reporting requirements concerning certain conditions | ▪ Requires an agency to report to ACF in writing within 10 working days of: – a license revocation, – a bankruptcy filing, – a debarment or CACFP disqualification, or – an audit finding that the agency is at risk of ceasing to be a going concern. | Statute Stands | The Act’s reporting-related provisions continue to apply either way; relocating this content rather than eliminating it does not change its underlying statutory basis. | § 1304.12 | § 1301.13 |
| Monitoring & Designation | Requirements to be considered for designation for a five-year period | Sets an application-content checklist for agencies competing for designation, addressing the Act’s selection criteria. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ Agencies remain required to submit an application addressing the Act’s selection criteria (Sec. 641(d)(2)). ▪ The specific regulatory checklist for what that application must contain is removed. | § 1304.13 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Tribal government consultation under the Designation Renewal System | Sets the Tribal consultation process under the Designation Renewal System as a plan within six months of a negative determination, followed by reevaluation for Tribes that meet one or more designation-renewal criteria. | Statute Stands | This consultation process is tied to the Act’s Tribal-specific designation-renewal provision (Sec. 641(c)(7)(B)), which continues to apply regardless of this regulation. | § 1304.14 | § 1301.17 |
| Monitoring & Designation | Designation request, review and notification process | ▪ Requires a grant recipient to request Designation Renewal at least 12 months before its grant period ends. ▪ Requires ACF to notify the recipient at least 12 months out, whether it must compete for the next period or has been preliminarily approved for renewal without competition. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ ACF’s preamble states it will continue to provide notice consistent with the Act’s general application and notification requirements (Sec. 641). ▪ The procedural requirements of designation request, review, and notification are removed. | § 1304.15 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Use of CLASS: Pre-K instrument in the Designation Renewal System | Mandates the CLASS: Pre-K instrument as the sole classroom-quality measurement tool in the Designation Renewal System. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1304.16 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Flexibility for Head Start Designation Renewal determinations in certain emergencies | Allows ACF to adjust designation-renewal timelines and requirements during declared emergencies. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1304.17 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Selection among applicants | Sets criteria and process for selecting among competing applicants for a Head Start grant. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ ACF’s preamble states it will continue to apply the Act’s selection criteria (Sec. 641(d)) directly. ▪ The detailed process is removed. | § 1304.20 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Procedure for identification of alternative agency | Sets the process by which a Tribe may designate an alternative agency to provide services following a relinquishment, termination, or denial of refunding. | Statute Stands | This alternative-agency process is tied to the Act’s provisions for Tribal relinquishment, termination, and denial of refunding (Sec. 646(e)(1)(A-B)), which continue to apply regardless of this regulation. | § 1304.30 | § 1301.17 |
| Monitoring & Designation | Requirements of alternative agency | Requires an agency identified by a Tribe as an alternative agency to establish that it meets all Head Start Act and regulatory requirements and is capable of running a Head Start program, evaluated against the Act’s selection criteria. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1304.31 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Alternative agency–prohibition | Bars an agency from being designated as an alternative agency if it employs someone who served on the terminated Tribal grant recipient’s staff and was responsible for the deficiency that led to the termination or denial of refunding. | Statute Stands | The Act’s prohibition (Sec. 646(e)(2)) continues to apply and is cross-referenced in the new Tribes section. | § 1304.32 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Purpose (fellows program) | Statement on the establishment of the Head Start Fellows Program as designed to enhance Fellows’ ability to contribute to Head Start and to other child development and family services programs. | Statute Stands | The Secretary’s underlying statutory authority to establish a fellowship program (Sec. 648A(d)) continues to apply. | § 1304.40 | No replacement proposed |
| Monitoring & Designation | Fellows program | Describes the Head Start Fellows Program, including competitive selection, placement options (national/regional offices, local agencies, universities, or other qualifying entities), a one-year term renewable for one additional year, and federal-employee status for purposes of injury compensation and conduct standards. | Statute Stands | The Secretary retains authority to establish a program of fellowships under the Act (Sec. 648A(d)) regardless of this regulation. | § 1304.41 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Overview (financial requirements) | Introductory provision states the overview of the financial requirements subpart. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not apply to this purely introductory, non-substantive provision. | § 1303.1 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Purpose (financial requirements) | Introductory provision states the purpose of the financial requirements subpart. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not apply to this purely introductory, non-substantive provision. | § 1303.2 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Other requirements (financial) | ▪ Lists other federal regulations that apply to all Head Start grants, including: – the OMB Uniform Guidance on administrative requirements and cost principles, – nondiscrimination and disability-rights rules, – human-subjects protections, and – federal claims-collection standards. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1303.3 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Federal financial assistance, non-Federal match, and waiver requirements | Sets detail on federal financial assistance, the non-federal match requirement, and waivers. | Statute Stands | ▪ The Act requires a 20% non-federal match (federal assistance capped at 80% of total approved program costs, Sec. 640(b)); that statutory requirement continues regardless of this regulation. ▪ The proposed rule’s own broader waiver provision (§ 1301.18) would allow programs to request a waiver of the match requirement. | § 1303.4 | § 1301.18 |
| Facilities & Finance | Limitations on development and administrative costs | Caps how much grant funding can go toward administrative and development costs at 15% of total approved program costs. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ No specific percentage – 15%, 5%, or otherwise – has independent statutory basis. ▪ Sec. 644(b) gives the Secretary three narrow powers: define accounting criteria, order an individual program below 15% case-by-case if costs are judged “excessive,” and grant time-limited waivers above 15% – not general authority to replace 15% with a different number for all agencies. ▪ That broader authority instead comes from the Secretary’s general standard-setting power (Sec. 641A(a)(1)(C)). ▪ ACF supports the 5% figure by pointing to four HHS block grant programs that use it. ▪ ACF’s impact analysis shows about 3.7% of current grants operate at or below 5%, with another 7.9% between 5–7.5% and 19.8% between 7.5–10%. ▪ Elsewhere the preamble notes many programs already operate “closer to 10 percent” than to 15%. | § 1303.5 | § 1301.14 |
| Facilities & Finance | Purpose (limitations and prohibitions) | Introductory provision states the purpose of the limitations and prohibitions subpart. | Statute Stands | The Act’s general accountability standard (Sec. 644(a)(1)) continues to apply regardless. | § 1303.10 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Limitations and prohibitions | Restates statutory limitations and prohibitions covering union organizing, the Davis-Bacon Act, compensation limits, nondiscrimination, unlawful activities, political activities, and parental consent for nonemergency exams. | Statute Stands | These are all direct statutory requirements (Sec. 644(e), 644(g)(3), 653–657A) that continue to apply in full regardless of this regulation. | § 1303.11 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Insurance and bonding | ▪ Requires agencies to maintain an ongoing risk-identification process with cost-effective insurance – including: – for the risk of accidental injury to children and – risk of fraudulent fund disbursement. ▪ Requires agencies to maintain fidelity bond coverage if insurance is insufficient to protect the federal government’s interest. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1303.12 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Purpose (approval of previously purchased facilities) | States that this subpart implements the Act’s facilities requirements (Sec. 644(c), (f), (g)), covering funding applications, protecting the federal interest in facilities purchased with grant funds, and other administrative provisions. | Statute Stands | The Act’s facilities-authorization requirement (Sec. 644(f)(1)) continues to apply. | § 1303.41 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Eligibility to purchase, construct, and renovate facilities | ▪ Before a grant recipient may apply for facilities funding, requires it to establish that the facility: – will serve Tribes or rural/low-income communities, – falls within its service area, – is necessary because no suitable facility is otherwise available, and – is more cost-effective to construct than to purchase or renovate. | Statute Stands | The Act’s eligibility requirements (Sec. 644(g)(1)) – including that facilities be available to Indian Tribes, rural, or low-income communities – continue to apply and are referenced in the streamlined facilities provision. | § 1303.42 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Use of grants funds to pay fees | Requires HHS approval before a grant recipient may use federal funds for fees and costs necessary to submit a facilities application, though once approved those funds remain allowable regardless of the application’s outcome. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1303.43 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Applications to purchase, construct, and renovate facilities | ▪ Requires an application to purchase, construct, or renovate facilities. ▪ Requires the application to include 20-year useful-life cost comparisons, minimum lease terms (30 years for purchase/construction, 15 years for renovation), and strict filing deadlines. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ Programs remain required to submit an application ▪ The detailed current requirements are removed, with HHS instead specifying application requirements at the Secretary’s discretion. | § 1303.44 | § 1301.15 |
| Facilities & Finance | Cost-comparison to purchase, construct, and renovate facilities | Sets a detailed cost-comparison methodology requiring programs to establish that construction is more cost-effective than purchasing or renovating an available facility. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ Programs remain required to establish that construction is more cost-effective before applying for construction funds, per the Act (Sec. 644(f)(2)(D)). ▪ The detailed current methodology is removed. | § 1303.45 | § 1301.15 |
| Facilities & Finance | Recording and posting notices of Federal interest | Requires a grant recipient to file a notice of federal interest in the official property records when using federal funds to purchase, construct, or renovate a facility, or post the notice on a modular unit’s interior and exterior. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1303.46 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Contents of notices of Federal interest | ▪ Specifies the required contents of a notice of federal interest – legal name, property description, grant award details, and restrictions on mortgaging, sale, or transfer without HHS’s written permission. ▪ Specifies separate requirements for owned facilities, leased facilities, and modular units. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1303.47 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Grant recipient limitations on Federal interest | ▪ Bars a grant recipient from mortgaging, using as collateral, or selling or transferring a facility, real property, or modular unit purchased with Head Start funds without HHS’s written permission. ▪ Requires HHS approval to use a facility for any purpose other than the one approved in the funding application. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1303.48 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Protection of Federal interest in mortgage agreements | ▪ Requires any mortgage or security agreement on a federally funded facility to: – give HHS the right to intervene on default, – receive notice of it, – delay foreclosure 60 days for an HHS response, – be paid first from foreclosure proceeds, – cure the default, and – transfer the agreement to a new grant recipient. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1303.49 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Third party leases and occupancy arrangements | Requires a lease or occupancy agreement of at least 30 years (15 years for major renovation or a modular unit) for a federally funded facility on land the recipient doesn’t own, preserving the recipient’s continued use and giving HHS the right to receive default notices, cure defaults, or transfer the lease. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1303.50 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Subordination of the Federal interest | Allows only HHS to subordinate the federal interest to a lender’s rights, and only if the grant recipient shows funding is otherwise unavailable and the mortgage agreement meets the federal-interest protections required elsewhere in this subpart. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1303.51 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Insurance, bonding, and maintenance (facilities) | ▪ Requires a grant recipient using federal funds to purchase a facility to obtain title insurance naming HHS as an additional loss payee. ▪ Requires a grant recipient to maintain physical-damage and (where applicable) flood insurance at full replacement value, and keep the facility in good repair under all applicable codes and licensing standards. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1303.52 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Copies of documents | Requires a grant recipient to submit copies of deeds, leases, loan instruments, mortgage agreements, notices of federal interest, and other facility-related legal documents to HHS within 10 days of filing or execution. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1303.53 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Record retention | Requires a grant recipient to retain records related to a facility’s lease, purchase, construction, or renovation for as long as it owns or occupies the facility, plus three years. | Statute Stands | The Act’s requirement that recipients retain records fully disclosing financial assistance and costs for audit purposes (Sec. 647(a)) continues to apply, alongside OMB Uniform Guidance’s own record-retention rules. | § 1303.54 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Procurement procedures | ▪ Requires open and full competition in procurement. ▪ Requires HHS’s written approval before contracting construction or renovation on a lump-sum fixed-price basis. ▪ Requires HHS approval for contract modifications that change scope or materially increase cost. ▪ Requires allowing HHS access to any facility during construction. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not specify these requirements. | § 1303.55 | No replacement proposed |
| Facilities & Finance | Inspection of work | Requires a grant recipient to submit a licensed engineer’s or architect’s final inspection report within 30 days of project completion, certifying the facility is structurally sound and complies with building codes, licensing requirements, ADA accessibility standards, and flood and historic-preservation requirements. | Statute Stands | The Act’s facilities-oversight requirement (Sec. 644(g)(3)) continues to apply. | § 1303.56 | No replacement proposed |
| Definitions | Purpose (definitions) | Introductory provision states the purpose of the definitions subpart. | Regulation Removed | The Act does not apply to this purely introductory, non-substantive provision. | § 1305.1 | No replacement proposed |
| Definitions | Terms | Defines terms used throughout the Head Start Program Performance Standards, including Agency, Early Head Start, Family, Grant recipient, Head Start agency, Income, Parent, School readiness goals, Service area, and Staff, among others. | Statute Stands – Reg. Cut | ▪ Many retained terms (Agency, Early Head Start, Head Start, Head Start agency, School readiness goals, and others) are either used in or tied to the Act’s own text. ▪ Terms being removed either are commonly understood, are defined directly in the Act itself, or relate to concepts no longer used in the proposed regulatory text. | § 1305.2 | § 1301.20 |
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