Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 23 attorneys general, submitted a comment letter opposing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) proposal to dramatically cut regulations governing the Head Start program.  

Raoul and the coalition explain in their letter that the proposed rule would gut long-standing and evidence-backed Head Start Program Performance Standards and impose an English-only mandate on Head Start programs. The rule would also lower the cap on allowable administrative and development costs from 15% to 5%, while adding other burdensome requirements that would undermine programs’ ability to prepare children to learn and succeed in school. 

“There is no reason children in Illinois and across the country should lose the opportunity offered by quality early childhood education,” Raoul said. “The Trump administration’s attempt to cut the Head Start program’s standards ultimately punish innocent children who face challenges beyond their control. I will continue to advocate alongside my colleagues to ensure all children have access to early childhood education programs.” 

“The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) goes against years of research on high-quality programs and will have a long-lasting negative/detrimental impact for generations to come, with additional burden on families, providers and educators,” said Secretary Teresa Ramos of the Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC). “The NPRM has created an overwhelming sense of fear and disappointment. Families, providers and young children across the country deserve better and I’m proud to be an Illinoian and stand with the many states pushing back against these proposed rules.”    

The IDEC also submitted a letter opposing the proposed rule to cut Head Start program regulations. 

Head Start is an early childhood education program designed to help break the cycle of poverty by providing young children from low-income backgrounds with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional and educational needs. It has operated with bipartisan support for over 60 years and helps address the national childcare gap, which is approximately 28% of children with a potential need who cannot access care within a reasonable distance. 

In Illinois, over 27,400 children and over 700 pregnant women were served by the state’s Head Start, Early Head Start and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs during the 2024 to 2025 school year. In their letter, Raoul and the attorneys general state that Head Start is critical for children who are frequently turned away from or otherwise cannot access quality early childhood education programs, such as children with disabilities, children experiencing homelessness, migrant children, children learning English and children from low-income households. 

The proposed rule would eliminate over 1,400 regulations designed to protect enrolled children, pregnant individuals, and families — threatening to upend a nationwide system of care. Specifically, the proposed rule would eliminate requirements for early support and coordination of services for children with disabilities, maximum child-to-staff ratios, safety standards and safe transportation practices, parent committees, staff credentialing and training requirements, and research-based timelines for health, developmental, and vision screenings. It would also remove minimum hours of service, the prohibition on expulsions, limits on suspensions, and end the ability of families to self-attest in eligibility determinations. As HHS acknowledges, the rule would also mean larger class sizes, fewer teachers, coaches, and home visitors, shorter program days, and reduced health, dental, and mental health services. 

Raoul and the coalition claim this will lead to poorer educational outcomes for children and further strain states’ public health and welfare systems. They assert that the proposed cap on administrative costs could make it harder for programs to apply for, become, and remain Head Start providers, which further limits services for Illinois children. Several provisions also vest undefined discretion in HHS, leaving Illinois Head Start programs exposed to political targeting by this federal administration. 

Joining Raoul in sending today’s letter are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the Governor of Kentucky.