The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed significant changes to the Head Start Performance Standards (Head Start) that COPAA opposes. If HHS proceeds as planned, the new regulations will completely eliminate current Head Start Performance Standards that specifically protect and support a child’s access to all requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and other federal laws in Head Start programs. It is COPAA’s belief that this drastic shift in early childhood education policy will create barriers to high quality, inclusive preschool options for children with disabilities and weaken the shared public infrastructure through which Head Start programs, school districts, Part C agencies, and families identify children with disabilities, develop inclusive placements, coordinate services, and support successful transitions into kindergarten. 

COPAA encourages any member who has benefited from or knows the benefits of Head Start programs for children with disabilities to SUBMIT COMMENTS by October 6, 2026. Here’s how:

• Submit your written comment here.
• Start your comments by introducing yourself.
• Share in your own words why the Head Start Performance Standards must be maintained.
• Share why the current Head Start requirements support your child/client. Please ask HHS to withdraw the current proposal.
• Discuss the impacts of one or more of the changes. You can also read COPAA’s comments here.
  • §1302-Subpart F: HHS removes all of the specific provisions, including key duties for programs, regarding children already identified with disabilities and those who may be suspected of having a disability. HHS also removes the existing protection that no child may be turned away because a program believes it cannot serve a child with a disability or chronic health condition. While HHS notes that “federal and state laws and regulations [still] apply,” the Head Start Performance Standards include specific duties essential to Head Start settings. 
  • §1302.33: HHS removes timely screening, assessment, and referral to IDEA agencies. While current laws still apply, the changes remove Head Start’s specific requirement that screening happens within 45 days. 
  • §1302.17(b)(2): HHS eliminates all provisions that protect children from suspension and expulsion by removing the requirements that place strong limits on suspension, including the required set of steps that Head Start programs must follow before excluding a child, including mental health consultation, and would also prohibit expulsion except in the “rare case it must actively help transition the child to somewhere appropriate, not just remove them.”
  • §1301.4/§1302.62: HHS removes requirements that help parents engage in and understand their child’s preschool education. HHS makes parent committees optional rather than mandatory and strips the Policy Council of its dispute resolution process. Specifically, the elimination of §1302.62 means parents are now without the affirmative federal requirements for Head Start to provide targeted, disability-specific services to parents and their children. Eliminations include the mandate to help families understand a child’s diagnosis, build self-advocacy skills, secure assistive technology and/or adaptive equipment, navigate insurance and service networks, understand IDEA timelines, participate in IFSP/IEP process, interpret evaluation results, and exercise their right to include Head Start staff in special education meetings.
  • §1303.75: HHS eliminates requirements for accessible and inclusive transportation, including for Head Start programs, to maintain adapted vehicles for children with disabilities, transport disabled children in integrated settings with their peers, and adhere explicitly to IEP/IFSP transportation mandates.