Data / Federal rules / 2026-09383
Restoring Flexibility To Support Head Start Program Access
The Children and Families Administration published this proposed rule in the Federal Register on May 12, 2026. Comments closed on June 11, 2026.
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What the agency says
In this notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) proposes to remove requirements from the Head Start Program Performance Standards (Performance Standards) to restore local flexibility to Head Start programs and improve access to quality services. Specifically, this NPRM proposes to remove requirements related to wages and benefits that the Administration believes are not in line with the plain language of the Head Start Act and are costly and overly prescriptive for Head Start programs and staff. ACF estimates these proposed changes, if finalized, will result in over $2 billion in future cost savings for Head Start programs. The proposed rescissions in this NPRM, if finalized, would impact the costliest parts of the final rule published by the Office of Head Start (OHS) in 2024, Supporting the Head Start Workforce and Consistent Quality Programming.\1\ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Key facts
- Document number
- 2026-09383
- Type
- Proposed rule
- Action
- Notice of proposed rulemaking
- Agency
- Health and Human Services Department; Children and Families Administration
- Published
- May 12, 2026
- Comments due
- June 11, 2026
- Dates
- Consideration will be given to comments received on or before June 11, 2026.
- Regulation ID (RIN)
- 0970-AD21
- Code of Federal Regulations
- 45 CFR 1302
- Topics
- Grant programs; Wages
- Significant
- Yes, under Executive Order 12866
- Pages
- 8
Other documents from the Children and Families Administration
| Document | Type | Published |
|---|---|---|
| Further Reducing Bureaucracy and Burden From the Administration for Native Americans 2026-21004 | Proposed rule | Oct 14 |
| Reforming Federal Reporting and Assessments in Child Welfare 2026-20329 | Proposed rule | Oct 5 |
| Reducing Bureaucracy and Burden for the Repatriation of Mentally Ill Nationals 2026-18167 | Proposed rule | Sep 4 |
| Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System 2026-16414 · significant | Proposed rule | Aug 12 |
| Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs 2026-16134 | Proposed rule | Aug 7 |
| Reducing Bureaucracy and Burden in Family Violence and Prevention Services 2026-15681 | Final rule | Aug 3 |
| Reducing Bureaucracy and Burden for Family Assistance Programs 2026-15567 | Final rule | Jul 31 |
| Administrative Costs for Children in Title IV-E Foster Care 2026-15403 · significant | Proposed rule | Jul 30 |
Everything from the Children and Families Administration · Rules on grant programs · Rules on wages · Published in May 2026
Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-24. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.