Preschool children line up to go outside at the Ralph Hawley Head Start Center in Emeryville, Calif., in December. The Trump administration has proposed major changes to the Head Start program. (Photo by Florence Middleton for CalMatters)
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has asked President Donald Trump to reconsider proposed changes to the Head Start program that he said would “destabilize early education systems that we have developed over decades.”
This summer, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced an intent to change policies governing the program, which provides free education and services to children from birth to age five in low-income families. The program was launched as a pilot in 1965.
“Over time, the delivery of these crucial services became unnecessarily encumbered by onerous regulations,” the proposed changes memo reads. “Eliminating these restrictive Federal regulations would also empower small and local businesses, freeing them to focus on excellence in service delivery rather than bureaucratic compliance.”
The proposed changes include a prioritization of the English language, edits to the performance standards described by the Trump administration as “detailed and prescriptive” and more.
Beshear sent a letter to the president on Tuesday, which was the deadline for public comment, and said the changes would “cut funding, increase class sizes, weaken curriculum standards, and make our kids less safe.”
He also said he signed a second letter with representatives from 24 other states asking for the same reconsideration.
During his Wednesday press conference in Frankfort, Beshear said the proposal “makes no sense.”
“My hope,” said Beshear, “is that the president reads the letters, rolls back these proposed changes and puts the American people, especially our kids, first.”
Courtesy of Kentucky Lantern
