The Administration for Children and Families, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, issued a final rule that removes wage and benefit requirements added to Head Start standards in 2024. The rule appears in the Federal Register dated Monday, Nov. 16, 2026, and takes effect Jan. 15, 2027. The document lists President Donald Trump as its signer.
Head Start provides early education and other services to low-income pregnant women and children from prenatal to age 5. The agency said the 2024 requirements were costly and overly prescriptive, and that removing them gives local programs more flexibility. It estimates the change will produce over $2 billion in future cost savings for programs.
The rule eliminates requirements that programs build or update a pay scale for all staff and pay education staff wages comparable to public preschool teachers. It also removes requirements to pay all staff enough to cover basic living costs, to align pay across Head Start Preschool and Early Head Start, and to provide specified benefits. Under the 2024 rule, programs would have had to meet the benefit requirements by August 2028 and the wage requirements by August 2031.
The agency said that without added funding from Congress, about 106,000 funded Head Start slots would have had to be cut to meet the 2024 requirements. It said that figure reflects potential funded enrollment capacity, not a prediction of actual enrollment or classroom operations.
The agency said the rule does not require programs to cut current pay and does not encourage them to do so. Programs can keep or add wage and benefit increases within their budgets. They must still follow federal, state and local minimum wage laws, the agency said.
Programs that need to adjust compensation to keep classrooms open can work with their Regional Office to change their budgets, the agency said.
The $2.1 billion figure is a yearly amount that would be reached over time. The agency said it is not a cut to Head Start appropriations. It described the amount as a transfer: from staff who would have received higher hourly pay under the 2024 rule, to staff who avoid losing hours or jobs and to children and families who would have lost slots.
The 2024 analysis estimated the wage requirements would cost about $1.2 billion and the benefit requirements about $877 million in 2031.
The agency received nearly 300 public comments, including two letters signed by members of Congress. Some commenters supported the proposal, citing flexibility, relief from burdensome federal regulation and removal of an unfunded mandate. Many others raised concerns about workforce stability, pay compared with public schools, and possible classroom closures.
Some commenters questioned whether the rule would increase flexibility without new funding. The agency replied that regulatory flexibility does not itself raise available funding.
Others said the $2.1 billion estimate was misleading because it reflects avoided costs, not new resources for programs. The agency responded that its approach aligns with Circular A-4, the Office of Management and Budget’s guidance to federal agencies on regulatory analysis.
The agency acknowledged that some programs have already begun steps to comply, including requests to reduce funded enrollment slots. It also said some staff may have stayed in their jobs expecting raises. It said it will use comments about other 2024 changes to inform future regulatory action.
