Head Start for America’s Children Act
Sponsored By: Representative Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]
Introduced
Summary
Modernize and expand Head Start to reach more children, add year‑round and full‑day options, and strengthen mental‑health, disability, and cultural supports while raising staff pay and benefits. The bill rewrites the law to update tribal and Native Hawaiian inclusion and to create multiyear, CPI‑indexed funding and salary rules through 2030.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
7 provisions identified: 6 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
More hours, partnerships, and grants
If enacted, the bill would fund multiple grants to expand full-working-day and year-round Head Start services and local partnerships. It would authorize $863 million for extended operation grants (2026–2030) and lists FY2026 reservations including $300 million for slot conversions, $4.404 billion for extended full calendar operations, and $80 million for mental health support. It would authorize $1.625 billion (2026–2030) for Head Start–child care partnerships, $500 million (2026–2030) for college-campus Head Start partnerships, $95 million for a 5‑year community eligibility pilot (up to 10 agencies), and about $91.6 million (2026–2030) for transportation. These grants aim to lengthen hours, add summer services, support facilities, and help student-parents get care.
Wider eligibility and enrollment rules
If enacted, more children would be eligible for Head Start. The bill would let families below 60% of the State median income qualify and add categorical eligibility for children who are homeless, in foster or kinship care, eligible for SSI, TANF, SNAP, WIC, Section 8, children with disabilities, children of Head Start staff, migrant and seasonal farmworker children, and children developing English proficiency. It would allow enrollment until kindergarten entry and give tribal and migrant programs discretion to set local selection rules and priorities. Early Head Start grant awards would be competitive with priority for providers with strong records or current Head Start operators.
Higher pay and benefits for staff
If enacted, Head Start educational staff would be guaranteed at least $60,000 in FY2026 or pay parity with local elementary teachers, whichever is higher. For FY2027 and later, the base pay would rise each year by the CPI‑U estimate set by HHS. The bill would set aside at least $3.58 billion for FY2026 and fund competitive workforce grants and career-advancement funds to raise pay, pay bonuses, and fund training. Agencies would also have to provide or help staff get health coverage, paid leave, short-term behavioral health, child care access, and Public Service Loan Forgiveness help; degree aid recipients would be asked to work at least 3 years but would not face repayment if they do not.
Large Head Start funding and indexing
If enacted, the bill would authorize $144.872 billion for Head Start in FY2026. For each later year, the authorized amount would increase by the HHS estimate of CPI‑U growth. The bill would also raise a specified discretionary allotment from $100 million to $200 million. These changes would increase the program's overall funding baseline and tie future growth to inflation estimates.
More disability and mental health supports
If enacted, Head Start agencies would need to screen children for mental health and follow up with referrals and trained consultants. The bill would require staff wellness supports and infant/early childhood mental health training for lead teachers. It would expand coordination with Medicaid, IDEA, and Section 504 to help pay for and deliver services, require programs to track accommodations and assistive technology, ensure funding accounts for disability costs, and require facility ADA compliance certification. Programs must tell parents about Section 504 rights and available accommodations.
New full‑year hours and operation rules
If enacted, the bill would define a full calendar year of center-based Head Start as at least 1,380 hours per year. It would also require most Head Start agencies offering center-based services to operate year‑round by September 30, 2027, unless the Secretary grants an exemption. Migrant, seasonal, and Native American Head Start agencies are exempt from the year‑round requirement. These rules aim to give families longer service hours but could lead some agencies to seek exemptions if year‑round operation would cut enrollment.
Regional offices, research, and reports
If enacted, the Secretary would maintain at least 10 regional Head Start offices and 2 program offices to expand training, technical help, and monitoring. The bill would reserve at least $6 million for those offices and at least $40 million for research and evaluation (with up to $10 million per year for certain activities). It would update Centers of Excellence grant dates to 2026–2030, require expanded staffing and program reports, and create an independent Native American Head Start Advisory Committee.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]
MI • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12]
PA • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Adams
NC • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3]
OH • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24]
CA • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Carson
IN • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Cisneros
CA • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9]
NY • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Davis (IL)
IL • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]
MI • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Elfreth
MD • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-3]
PA • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Frost, Maxwell [D-FL-10]
FL • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Garamendi, John [D-CA-8]
CA • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4]
IL • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Grijalva
AZ • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Gomez
CA • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Hoyle, Val T. [D-OR-4]
OR • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7]
WA • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Kennedy (NY)
NY • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36]
CA • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
McClellan
VA • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. McGarvey, Morgan [D-KY-3]
KY • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. McIver, LaMonica [D-NJ-10]
NJ • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4]
WI • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5]
MN • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Pingree
ME • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]
WI • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Ross, Deborah K. [D-NC-2]
NC • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Simon
CA • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Tokuda, Jill N. [D-HI-2]
HI • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12]
NJ • D
Sponsored 2/20/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov