Budzinski, Bonamici Lead 27 Members in Push to Safeguard Pay and Benefits for Head Start Educators

Resources / Press Share on Budzinski, Bonamici Lead 27 Members in Push to Safeguard Pay and Benefits for Head Start Educators Jun 10, 2026 Press WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) led 27 members in a letter to the Office of Head Start, urging them to withdraw the proposed rule that would eliminate the wage and benefit standards finalized in 2024. These standards were designed to stabilize the Head Start workforce and improve program quality for children and families. The members wrote , “At its core, this proposal asks the American people to accept that the teachers and staff caring for some of our nation’s most vulnerable children should continue earning wages so low that many cannot afford to stay in the profession. That is not flexibility; rather, it is a continuation of the workforce crisis already forcing classrooms to close and cutting off access for the families who depend on Head Start most.” “The families who rely on Head Start — and the educators who make it work — deserve far better than a return to chronic underpayment and workforce instability. We recognize that implementing these standards requires adequate federal investment, and we are committed to working toward the appropriations necessary to make that possible,” they continued . “Reducing support for the Head Start workforce will not expand access — it will deepen staffing shortages and make it harder for programs to serve eligible children. When classrooms close because positions cannot be filled, children and families pay the price. Illinois Head Start and Early Head Start programs see these challenges every day, and we are grateful to the members of Congress who are standing up and demanding better for our educators,” said Lauri Morrison-Frichtl, Executive Director Illinois Head Start Association The full text of the letter is HERE and below: Director of Policy and Planning, Office of Head Start Administration for Children and Families U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 330 C Street, SW Washington, DC 20201 Re: Comment to Proposed Rule “Restoring Flexibility to Support Head Start Program Access” (ACF-2026- 0364 ) Dear Director, We write as Members of Congress in strong opposition to the proposed rule, “Restoring Flexibility to Support Head Start Program Access,” published on May 12, 2026. This proposal would eliminate the wage and benefit standards finalized in 2024 — standards designed to stabilize the Head Start workforce and improve program quality for children and families. We urge the Trump Administration to withdraw this rule immediately. At its core, this proposal asks the American people to accept that the teachers and staff caring for some of our nation’s most vulnerable children should continue earning wages so low that many cannot afford to stay in the profession. That is not flexibility; rather, it is a continuation of the workforce crisis already forcing classrooms to close and cutting off access for the families who depend on Head Start most. This proposed rule does not exist in a vacuum. It is part of a broader, systematic effort by the Trump Administration to dismantle Head Start. In 2025, a leaked Administration proposal would have eliminated the program entirely. While that plan was never finalized, the Administration pressed forward on multiple fronts. Five of the program’s ten regional offices were shuttered, and by April 2025, the Administration had withheld nearly one billion dollars in federal grants to Head Start Centers nationwide. The consequences were immediate and severe: centers closed, families lost access, and teachers lost jobs. Then in July 2025, the Administration released a notice reclassifying Head Start as a “federal public benefit” — reversing an interpretation in place since 1998 — which blocks DACA recipients and those with Temporary Protected Status from enrolling in some Head Start programs. This proposed rule is the next step in that same effort to destroy Head Start piece by piece. The Administration argues that the 2024 standards exceeded the authority provided under the Head Start Act. The statute itself directs the Secretary to ensure Head Start compensation is comparable to wages paid for substantially similar work in local communities and prohibits compensation from falling below the federal minimum wage. The 2024 rule did exactly that. It did not impose a one-size-fits-all national salary mandate. Instead, it created a locally calibrated framework tying compensation to comparable public preschool wages and encouraged programs to build sustainable salary structures based on training, experience, and responsibilities. The proposed rollback ignores the economic reality facing the early childhood workforce. The federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 per hour since 2009 — a wage that, in 2025, falls below the poverty line for a household of any size. Yet, the Administration points to that same floor as