Head Start gave low-income children a chance to thrive. That is now at risk.

Parents whose children attend Head Start in Maryland could see class sizes increase, the school day shorten, and some of the health, nutrition and family services they receive diminish under a new Trump administration proposal.

The potential changes would roll back federal regulations governing a popular early childhood education program that has given low-income children across the nation access to high-quality learning and support for their families.

Federal officials say they are reducing bureaucratic red tape and turning over control to local agencies, creating cost savings that will allow Head Start centers to serve more children.

But critics say the federal government is also imposing some of its own new rules, including one that is likely to put such a financial squeeze on Maryland centers that some will close.

Head Start programs serve 7,000 children, from infants through kindergarten, in 159 centers across the state. Run by nonprofits — from the YMCA to Catholic Charities to public schools — Head Start programs in Maryland received more than $135 million in federal funds in 2025.

They are open to low-income parents and are designed not just to provide childcare but also to provide services like home visits for new moms or on-site food pantries. The programs are known for high standards, including low student-to-teacher ratios and high-quality curricula.

“It is supposed to be vaulting children in the most vulnerable places onto the playing field so they are growing and learning at the same rate as their peers” when they enter kindergarten, said Laura Weeldreyer, the executive director of the Maryland Family Network, which oversees 15 Early Head Start centers in the state.

Weeldreyer said the proposed rule changes, which would take effect in 2027, lower standards for the program and could harm the many families who now benefit from it.

The new rules would reduce the amount of federal money that could go toward Head Start centers’ administrative costs from 15% of their funding to 5%, a move Weeldreyer worries would wreck budgets and cause centers to close.

Whether public or private, the average cost of administration is 15% of a childcare center’s budget, said Steven Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Childhood Education at Rutgers University.

It is unlikely that even a deregulated Head Start would be able to reduce costs enough to get it down to 5%, he said.

The Maryland State Department of Education said in a statement that it is monitoring the changes.

“Rather than simply adopting any eliminated or revised federal requirements, Maryland views this moment as an opportunity to develop one coherent, aligned early childhood system across the state,” the statement said.

Maryland officials acknowledge that the 5% cap on administrative costs could “create operational challenges” for Head Start programs, but they said the state could not make up the difference in costs. Some supplemental grants will continue to be available to help Head Start, the department said.

State leaders said in a statement that they believe Head Start will see shifts in student-to-teacher ratios and services for families. They said the education department would meet with Head Start centers around the state and review the state’s staffing ratios for different age groups.

“As the federal government shifts these decisions about early childhood to states, Maryland will provide the leadership necessary to ensure we do right by our children,” said Maryland State School Superintendent Carey Wright in a statement.

Barnett said that it remains unclear whether the federal government will pay for some parts of the program that have long made it successful but are no longer required. For instance, he said, if there are no requirements for Head Start to be open for a full day, will the federal government pay for that full day or will the centers have to reduce their hours?

“Are we saving money, or is this just cost shifting?” Barnett asked.

Those involved in providing Head Start programs worry that when the standards change, the quality will drop and states will be unable to fill the gaps, even if they want to maintain Head Start’s prior standards.

If federal changes are greenlit, “a whole host of things” could be impacted, including the number of children served and staff employed by local Head Start programs, said Denine Rafus, who leads Catholic Charities’ Head Start programs in Baltimore City and Baltimore, Carroll and Harford counties.

The family support services that have been hallmarks of the program, like speech therapy for young children and health checkups for expectant mothers, might also disappear.

The federal government has argued that deregulation will unlock about 200,000 new slots for kids without having to allocate more money to the program. But John Schiavone, whose organization operates six Head Start and four Early Head Start centers in Baltimore, called that a false promise.

Programs still have to follow their state’s class size, teacher-to-child ratios and safety regulations. In Maryland, that may mean adding just one or two kids to a class, said Schiavone, president and CEO of St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore.

Maryland’s current teacher-to-student ratios are similar to Head Start’s, except for the state’s classrooms of 2- and 3-year-olds, which allow more children per teacher. Maryland requires one teacher for every 10 children in a class of 3-year-olds, compared with the Head Start standard of two teachers for every 17 children.

For 2-year-olds, Maryland requires one teacher for every six children, and Head Start requires one teacher for every four children.

Tommy Sheridan, deputy director of the National Head Start Association, said it’s important to remember that “nothing is changing today or tomorrow” — the process for approving rule changes could stretch from months to more than a year, and nothing is set in stone.

The rules help program leaders interpret legislation governing Head Start, which started in 1965, but they don’t change the legislation itself, which would need to be altered by Congress, according to Sheridan. The Trump administration tried to eliminate the program altogether just over a year ago, but dropped the idea because there was so much bipartisan pushback.

The Head Start community is “really trying to get our heads around exactly what impact this would have,” Sheridan said.

Banner reporter Shayla Colon contributed to this story.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.