Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general in opposing a federal proposal to cut regulations governing the Head Start early childhood education program.
In a comment letter submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Raoul and the coalition said the proposed rule would gut long-standing 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%.
According to the letter, the proposed rule would eliminate more than 1,400 regulations, including requirements for maximum child-to-staff ratios, safety and transportation standards, staff credentialing, parent committees, and timelines for health, developmental and vision screenings. It would also remove minimum hours of service, the prohibition on expulsions and limits on suspensions.
The coalition said the changes could lead to larger class sizes, fewer teachers, shorter program days and reduced health, dental and mental health services.
"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."
Teresa Ramos, secretary of the Illinois Department of Early Childhood, said the proposed rule "goes against years of research on high-quality programs." The department also submitted a letter opposing the rule.
According to the release, Head Start has operated with bipartisan support for more than 60 years. In Illinois, more than 27,400 children and more than 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.
Joining Raoul 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.