# 119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act 119-s-2819, Head Start for America's Children Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819 - As of: 2026-04-21 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-s-2819 - Congress: 119 - Title: Head Start for America's Children Act - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2025-09-16 - Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT) - Cosponsors: 16 - Policy area: Education - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-04-21 ## Summary **This bill would expand and modernize Head Start** to serve more infants and toddlers, require more year‑round and extended‑day options, and strengthen mental‑health, disability, and Native language supports. - Families and children: Would broaden eligibility to include families at or below 60% of the State median income and explicitly cover homeless children, foster care children, and children with disabilities. It would add mental‑health screening during home visits and push many center‑based programs toward full‑calendar‑year operation by Sept. 30, 2027 with defined exemptions. - Early childhood workers and providers: Would expand Early Head Start provider eligibility and prioritize partnerships with Tribal, minority‑serving, and Hispanic‑serving institutions. It would raise staff training expectations, require wage and benefits comparability reporting, and tie a three‑year teaching commitment to certain loan repayment rules. - Native American, Native Hawaiian, and migrant/seasonal programs: Would institutionalize Tribal and Native Hawaiian participation in governance, fund language and cultural preservation, bar non‑Native grantees for Native programs, and exempt these programs from the year‑round requirement while reserving a 4.5% grant pool for them. *Would authorize a FY2026 baseline of $144.9 billion and multi‑year targeted reservations including $4.4 billion for extended operations and $300 million for slot conversions, thereby increasing federal spending.* ## Cosponsors (16) - Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM] (D-NM), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-12-15T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - Broader Head Start eligibility and pilots: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would expand Head Start eligibility to children with family income at or below 60% of the State median and add many categorical groups like homeless, foster, SSI, TANF, SNAP, and Section 8 recipients. The bill would bar extra local eligibility tests and create a Community Eligi… - Big new Head Start funding: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would authorize $144.872 billion for Head Start in fiscal year 2026. Each year after would rise by an annual adjustment percentage tied to CPI-U. The bill would set aside at least $3.58 billion in FY2026 for staff compensation. It would fund $5 billion for facilities and reserv… - Better health and disability services: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would require Head Start to improve coordination with Medicaid and provide technical help to speed payments and referrals. Early Head Start home visits would include mental health screening and referrals. Programs would get more training, access to mental health consultants, an… - Head Start child-care partnerships: benefit, medium. If enacted, Head Start agencies could get competitive grants to partner with child care providers. Grants could pay for training, financial help, and blending Head Start and child care funds to give full working-day care. The bill would provide $1.625 billion for these partnership activities for FY… - Head Start on college campuses: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would fund competitive grants for Head Start partnerships with colleges to serve student parents on campus. Grants would run five years with renewals and give priority to historically underserved institutions. The bill would appropriate $500 million for FY2026–2030 for these ca… - Head Start workforce pay and training: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would fund grants to rebuild the Head Start workforce and set aside at least $40 million for career advancement partnerships. It would allow paid clinical teaching experiences and require degree recipients to work three years with no repayment if the work requirement is not met… - Higher Head Start Funding Limits: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would double a named program funding limit from $100 million to $200 million. It would also raise a reserved set‑aside from 3% to 4.5%, increasing the share of funds for that category. - Head Start ADA Compliance Required: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would require Head Start facility paperwork to include a certification of compliance with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This aims to improve physical and program access for children with disabilities. - Help getting to and staying in Head Start: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would provide $91.575 million for transportation to help children reach Head Start from FY2026 through FY2030. It would also let programs offer supports like transportation, child care, dependent care, assistive technology, and food to help people join Head Start training and a… - Competitive Early Head Start awards: benefit, low. If enacted, Early Head Start grants would be awarded competitively. Priority would go to entities with a record of early, continuous services and to current Head Start operators. This may shift awards toward experienced providers. - Stronger Native and Hawaiian protections: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would add Native Hawaiian organizations to appeals and notice rules and generally defer to Native experts when making guidance for Native-serving Head Start programs. It would support Native language revitalization, add digital literacy programs for Native participants, and let… - Local Control over Head Start Curriculum: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would bar Head Start programs and local schools from forcing each other to use a specific curriculum. This preserves local program and school control over teaching materials. - Stronger Tribal Head Start Oversight: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would create a Native American Head Start advisory committee. The Secretary would consult the committee on research and planning. The Office of Head Start must keep program offices for Native and migrant programs and expand regional staffing and technical help. - More full-day, year-round care: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would fund grants and set rules so many Head Start centers can provide more than 1,380 hours a year. It would create competitive grants for extended hours and summer operations. By September 30, 2027, centers must be full calendar year unless exempted. The Secretary may exempt… ## Related bills - 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026 - 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act - 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026 - 119-s-1503: Equality Act - 119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025 - 119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025 ## Sources - [119-s-2819 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2819) ## Related - [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066) - [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51) - [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108) - [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503) - [119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-852) - [119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2150) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819 (as of 2026-04-21).