Children in Milwaukee Head Start programs could see larger class sizes, changes to bilingual instruction and fewer federally required support services under a new proposal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The 200-page proposal calls for sweeping changes to the Head Start performance standards that have guided the program for decades, replacing them with slimmer regulations to give more flexibility to programs and control to the states.
The changes, officials say, will create roughly 162,000 additional Head Start and Early Head Start slots nationally.
Jennie Mauer, executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association, which supports 39 Head Start providers across the state, said the changes undermine the longstanding programs that have long defined head start.
“What’s really at risk here is the congressional charge and objective of not only providing quality child care for our communities’ most vulnerable kids and families, but it’s providing those services that wrap around kids and families and really provide amazing support in our community,” Mauer said.
Families, providers and any other concerned residents have until Oct. 6 to send their feedback to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Here’s what Milwaukee families should know and how to get involved.
Class size/ratios
Head Start programs are currently required to maintain regulated child-to-staff class ratios specified by age group. The new proposed rules would eliminate those requirements, pushing Head Start programs to instead refer to state and local laws.
Deferring to state licensing requirements “will not impede children’s development or leave children unsafe while enabling programs to allocate resources more efficiently toward direct services and expanded enrollment,” according to the proposal.
Mauer said children often have complex behavioral and development needs that require a low staff-to-child ratio.
Paula Drew, director of Early Care and Education Policy and Research at the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association, worries that increased class ratios will strain existing staff, who she said are already difficult to find in the current job market.
“It’s a hard job that requires a lot of expertise,” Drew said. “If you are adding more kiddos in and you’re not getting any additional funding … they will burn out quickly, and all of this is bad for children.”
All education must be in English
Several bilingual Head Start programs in Milwaukee serve predominantly Spanish-speaking families, including La Causa and the United Community Center.
If the proposed changes are approved, all Head Start education would have to be in English. If a child doesn’t speak English, the program must prioritize teaching them the language, with exception to tribal Head Start programs.
The department said the changes would minimize “non essential multilingual services and redirect toward English-language education and assimilation.”
These changes would cost bilingual programs about $2,500 per classroom to replace teaching and classroom materials that aren’t in English, costing an estimated 18,767 affected classrooms across the country an estimated $46.9 million.
Programs would also be required to retrain staff to shift toward English-only instruction, which HHS anticipates would result in programs needing to replace some employees.
Mauer said allowing children to speak in their native language helps them learn English. She worries that requiring English-only instruction is impractical, especially in programs with high numbers of Spanish-speaking children in Milwaukee and rural Wisconsin.
“If you’ve ever tried to get a group of children to put their snow pants on, you sure want to be able to communicate to those children in a language … that they understand,” Mauer said.
The proposed regulations would allow programs to request a waiver of these requirements. The department is inviting feedback on the proposed waiver process, including in what circumstances a program may apply for a waiver to the proposed English language requirements.
Looser requirements for minimum class time
Drew said providers must currently provide at least 1,020 hours of classroom instruction each year.
HHS said this annual minimum requirement isn’t the most “appropriate means of promoting positive outcomes for children.”
If approved, providers would get more control to set their service hours, as long as all programs run instruction for at least three hours each operating day.
Programs running four days per week would give at least 128 days of instruction – at least 384 hours per year – and five-day-per-week programs would give at least 160 days for at least 32 weeks – 480 hours per year.
The agency’s hope is that the changes would give programs flexibility to decide how many service hours their families need while saving operation costs.
By reducing the number of instruction hours, the government estimates Head Start programs could collectively save up to $321 million that would have gone to employee pay.
Nutrition and physical activity
The proposal also includes several physical activity requirements that Drew says are redundant. It would require at least 30 minutes of physical activity for every three and a half hours the child participates in the program.
“You would never keep kids inside for more than three hours,” Drew said. “These kids are moving 24 hours a day.”
Programs would also have to educate families on the negative health consequences of sugar-sweetened drinks and desserts and how to prepare nutritious foods within budget.
Parent education and father outreach
Head Start programs would need to engage families, especially fathers, with education material demonstrating “healthy marriage as a positive good.”
There are no anticipated additional costs for this engagement.
Administrative costs cut
Programs can currently spend up to 15% of their total budget on administrative costs, which Mauer said covers services like human resources, background checks, processing paperwork and more.
The proposal would reduce administrative costs to 5% of total program costs.
“Think about what your company, your organization would be if you didn’t have core staff to provide the management capacity to make it function,” Mauer said.
Health services removed
Head Start programs must currently provide at least one mental health consultation a month, conduct teeth-brushing activities, help pregnant women access healthcare and insurance and more to help families maintain health and wellness.
The proposal would remove these requirements and instead leave it up to the provider to decide how to structure these services.
HHS said this will give programs “more flexibility to design and implement health, nutrition and mental health services that best meet their communities’ needs.”
How to get involved
The public has until Oct. 6 to send their feedback about the new proposed performance standards.
Drew said anyone, including families and concerned citizens, can submit feedback on the proposed changes, and submissions don’t have to be complicated.
“A comment can be as simple as you typing into the box online as a parent, ‘I do not agree with the new proposed requirements,’” Drew said.
Submit a comment online here. You can remain anonymous.
You can also email a comment to deregulation@acf.hhs.gov including the case number (ACF-2026-0595) or Regulation Identifier Number (0970-AD30) in the subject line.
Alex Klaus is the education solutions reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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