More than 2,100 children enrolled in D.C.'s Head Start programs could lose a layer of federal protection against suspension and expulsion under a Trump administration proposal. The public comment period closes Tuesday, Oct. 6.
The Department of Health and Human Services published a proposed rule on Aug. 7 that would scrap Section 1302.17 of the Head Start Program Performance Standards. That section bans expulsion and limits suspension to a last resort, requiring programs to first try interventions such as mental health consultations, parent collaboration and behavior coaching.
Without it, Head Start programs would set their own discipline policies based on state and local licensing rules.
D.C. is among only 15 jurisdictions — 14 states and the District — with laws that align with Head Start's current discipline protections, according to a September 2026 analysis by the Children's Equity Project at Arizona State University. Local programs would still be bound by D.C. law. But the federal backstop, which covers Head Start's nearly 700,000 students nationwide, would disappear.
In the District, federally funded Head Start served 2,122 children in fiscal year 2024, including 424 preschool slots and 1,698 Early Head Start slots, according to the DC Association for the Education of Young Children.
The stakes are clearest in states without their own protections. An analysis of 2023-24 federal civil rights data by The 74 and the Associated Press found South Carolina suspended 604 public preschoolers a total of 1,181 times in one year. Florida expelled 466 preschoolers, more than any other state. Minnesota, which explicitly includes Head Start in its regulations, reported zero suspensions.
Joanna Isitt, a Head Start teacher and mother of 4-year-old Xavier Rogers, told WTOP that her son's program helped him through behavioral challenges rather than removing him from class. "With these supports in place, I feel like he has grown tremendously … he's become much, much more aware of himself and how he feels and how others may feel," Isitt said.
Researchers found that only about half of the 15 jurisdictions with aligned laws cover all children under 5, the age group Head Start serves. In 70% of states, students would have fewer guardrails if the rule takes effect.
The proposed rule is part of a broader overhaul. The administration wants to rescind more than 1,400 regulatory provisions and replace them with what it calls a streamlined framework, estimating annual savings of about $940 million. The proposal would also roll back required adult-to-child ratios, monthly mental health consultations, developmental screenings and staff breaks.
An HHS spokesperson said the rule would give programs more flexibility and would not force changes to current practices that work well.
Natalie Renew, executive director of Home Grown, an early-childhood advocacy group, warned that the proposal would pull back both the rules and the resources that make Head Start work. She told WTOP that children who cannot be served elsewhere will have nowhere to go.
A 2021 Office for Civil Rights report found that among public preschoolers nationally, Black children made up 18% of enrollment but 43% of out-of-school suspensions. Children with disabilities also faced disproportionate discipline.
As of Monday, Oct. 5, the Federal Register showed 33,010 comments received on the proposal. Comments can be submitted through Oct. 6 at regulations.gov under docket ACF-2026-0595 or by email to [email protected].
