Lincoln Head Start weighs in on President Trump’s Administration plan to change regulations

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A major change could be coming to early childhood education programs across the nation.

President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to roll back federal requirements for the Head Start program.

The program serves as an educational resource for families who may not be able to afford it.

“We see that change has always been a part of Head Start, and that will definitely continue,” said Jill Bomberger, Director of Community Action Head Start. “I think there’s always room for lessening administrative burdens, those kinds of things.”

The program’s current regulations span more than 100 pages.

It ranges from things like curriculum, classroom sizes, medical screenings and healthy habits for kids.

Trump’s administration would replace those regulations with a dozen pages of rules, leaving the rest to state and local laws.

Bomberger said they are always working to be better at Head Start, but this plan could change their main mission.

“The other piece of it that’s really been the cornerstone since the beginning, is our model of comprehensive services,” she said. “Back when Head Start was designed, the folks charged with that program realized that in order for children who might have more barriers to their success, to be successful, when they go to kindergarten is to be able to make sure that when we’re helping their families make sure their basic needs are met.”

These changes could reshape the way Head Start teaches young children.

That’s something Bomberger said they’ve been studying for quite some time.

“One of the wonderful things about having a model like ours that’s 60 years old, is that we have 60 years of research,” she said. “Researchers from all different fields, from education to social work to economics have studied the Head Start program, and have been able to find out what works, how we double down on them.”

The changes are expected to be announced in a few days, and could be finalized by the end of this year.