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Statement on proposed Head Start deregulation from NIEER Director Steven Barnett

On August 6, 2026, the Trump Administration proposed sweeping changes to the Head Start program. Although less federal micromanagement of Head Start is to be lauded, the proposed changes include provisions that would undermine Head Start as a school readiness program and make integration with high-quality state pre-K programs more difficult. Oddly, these misguided proposals are completely at odds with the expressed intent to decrease mandates from DC and align with state policies.

In response, Dr. Steven Barnett, the founder and director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, issued the following statement: 

“The Trump Administration’s proposal to remove 80% of Head Start regulations could undermine the program’s ability to fulfill its purpose of improving the school readiness of children in poverty.

"Among the most important targets of the proposed deregulations are the elimination of child-staff ratios, which could lead to higher child to teacher ratios, double or even triple for infants and toddlers in some Head Start programs.

"Low child-staff ratios are linked to better school readiness.  The most comprehensive research reveals that success depends on individualized teaching 1:1 and in small groups. That is why our Institute recommends no more than 1:10 as a staff:child ratio for three- and four-year-olds among 10 research-based preschool quality standards, and why Head Start and most state-funded pre-K programs mandate lower child-staff ratios than child care licensing standards.

"Also of concern are the reduction in required hours of instruction to just 3 hours per day for 128 days a year and a new requirement for English-only instruction. Fewer hours make it even more difficult to individualize instruction.  Limiting instruction to English has no advantage for learning English and increases loss of home language, while dual language fluency has cognitive, social, and economic advantages.

"While reductions in federal micromanagement of Head Start have long been needed, the program should align with the best state pre-K standards rather than defaulting to states’ child care licensing minimums as the administration proposes. Whether public or private, high-quality pre-K programs have been found to produce large improvements in school readiness and success, educational attainment, and adult earnings."
 

NIEER Activity 

The race to the bottom: What replacing Head Start ratios standards with state child care minimums will mean for children in poverty

Head Start’s current ratio standards are based on expert consensus and empirical evidence that pre-K quality is higher and children’s safety and development improved when there are reasonable limits to the number of young children per staffer in the classroom. Current Head Start standards limit staff:child ratios to 1:4 for babies and toddlers under age 3, 1:8 for 3 year olds and 1:10 for 4 year olds. In contrast, state child care licensing ratios are less salutary and vary enormously.

NIEER’s new brief, The race to the bottom: What replacing Head Start ratios standards with state child care minimums will mean for children in poverty, by Morgan Healy and Steve Barnett, compares Head Start ratio standards as they are currently written to state child care regulations across all 50 states and DC, and asks: if Head Start programs defaulted to state child care licensing minimums, what would change? And how do state child care ratio requirements compare to those of public pre-K in the same state?

Read the new brief.
 

NIEER Experts Head to Alabama for a Mixed-Delivery Pre-K Planning Convening 

On August 3-4, 2026, leaders and staff from the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (ADECE) welcomed NIEER’s Erin Harmeyer and GG Weisenfeld, Allison Hooper of the University of Alabama, and selected external partners to Montgomery to: 

• examine opportunities to strengthen Alabama’s mixed-delivery approach; 
• consider emerging national developments and future priorities for Alabama First Class Pre-K; 
• prepare ADECE and its partners to communicate a clear and forward-looking vision to future state leaders. 

The conversation focused on building on Alabama’s strong foundation, supporting continuous improvement, and considering how First Class Pre-K can continue to serve children and families well across the range of early childhood settings.
 

Focus on New Jersey Weekly Feature 

Sherrill Administration Announces Statewide School Funding Outreach Effort to Strengthen Opportunity for New Jersey Students

NIEER is pleased to participate in the steering committee for a new stakeholder-driven initiative to overhaul New Jersey’s school funding system and advance Governor Mikie Sherrill’s commitment to ensuring that every student, regardless of ZIP code, has access to an excellent education and the opportunities that come with it.   

As districts face rising costs and evolving needs, this New Jersey Department of Education-led initiative will help build a shared understanding of how school funding works today and identify ways to make the system more predictable, transparent, accountable, and responsive to student needs.

Click here to learn more and stay engaged.

International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy (IJCCEP) Weekly Feature 
 

A Mixed Methods Study Investigating Pre-K Assistant Teachers’ Social and Functional Roles: Implications for Practice and Policy in Early Childhood Education and Care

Clarissa M. Corkins, Amanda W. Harrist, Isaac J. Washburn, Larisa Callaway-Cole, Jennifer B. Stepp, and Robin L. Fuxa examined the social and functional roles of paraprofessional assistant teachers (PATs) in U.S. public pre-K using a mixed methods exploratory sequential design. The authors analyzed 12 assistant teacher job descriptions and surveyed 118 PATs, identifying two distinct social role profiles and two classroom duty patterns representing hierarchical and co-teaching structures.
 

Publish in the International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy (IJCCEP)   

• It’s FREE – article processing charges for all articles published in the journal are fully sponsored.   
• The journal is indexed by Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) and by Scopus.
• All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 license. Authors will retain copyright.

ECE Research
 

Singing Enhances Poetry Learning and Memorization in Preschool Children

Weijin Hu, Baishen Liang, and Yi Du investigated whether singing improves preschool children's ability to learn and remember classical Chinese poetry through two experiments involving 118 Mandarin-speaking children. Published in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, the authors found that children who learned poems through singing demonstrated faster, more accurate, and more fluent recall than children who learned through rote recitation. These advantages persisted over a six-month period and remained evident even when children learned more complex poems. The findings  suggest that incorporating singing into ECE can be a developmentally appropriate strategy for enhancing language learning, memory, and long-term retention.

Adaptive Gamification and Game-Based Learning in Preschool and Early Primary Education: A Systematic Literature Review

Alkinoos-Ioannis Zourmpakis examined the effectiveness of adaptive gamification and adaptive game-based learning for young children through a systematic review of 19 empirical studies published between 2016 and 2026. Published in Computers, the review followed PRISMA guidelines and analyzed studies identified from 5,069 records across nine databases. While most studies reported improvements in learning and motivation, outcomes were mixed, with benefits most evident when adaptations matched children's prior knowledge, pacing, or task difficulty, often improving learning efficiency more than overall achievement. 

Associations Between Exercise Experiences in the Home Environment During Early Childhood and Motor Skill Development in Preschool Children: A Longitudinal Follow-Up Study 

Shiho Kobayashi, Keiko Abe, and Kozo Tomiyama examined the relationship between early home-based exercise experiences and motor skill development in preschool children through a longitudinal study of children assessed at ages 3 to 5. The study found that boys with more frequent physical activity opportunities at home demonstrated stronger performance in most motor skills than those with limited early exercise experiences, although differences diminished over time. No consistent associations between early exercise experiences and motor skill development were observed among girls. The findings highlight the complementary roles of families and preschool environments in promoting children's motor development. 

Family Language, Preschool, and Reading Achievement: The Interplay Between Inequality in Opportunities and Outcomes

Andrés Strello, Nurullah Eryılmaz, and Rolf Strietholt examined the relationships among family language, preschool attendance, and fourth-grade reading achievement using data from 15 education systems that participated in all cycles of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). Published in Reading Research Quarterly, authors found persistent disparities in preschool participation and reading achievement between children who spoke the test language at home and those who did not, with the largest gaps occurring among students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Preschool attendance was associated with stronger reading outcomes, particularly for children facing both linguistic and economic disadvantages, yet these were the children least likely to have access to early education. 

Opportunities

Join Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) October 8, 2026 for the 2nd Annual Preschool Community-Based Private Provider Professional Development Conference 

The 2026 Community-Based Private Provider Professional Development Conference is designed specifically for providers who are in contract with school districts to deliver high-quality preschool programs. Join colleagues from across New Jersey for a day of connection, collaboration, and practical learning. Hear from experienced leaders in the field, explore strategies that support strong district-provider partnerships, and leave with tools and resources you can put into action immediately. Whether you are looking to strengthen your program, navigate shared challenges, or build lasting relationships that benefit children and families, this conference offers the inspiration and support to help your work thrive. 

Learn more and register here.

Data Collector, NIEER

Research Scientist, Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL), University of Virginia

Lead Advocacy Officer, ZERO TO THREE

Project Manager, ZERO TO THREE

Postdoctoral Associate in Early Literacy Research and Development, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

Program Officer, Children and Families, The David & Lucile Packard Foundation

Chief of Early Learning, First Steps, State of South Carolina

Early Learning Services Research and Evaluation Scientist, Children Youth & Families Department State of Minnesota

Vice President, Early Childhood Policy, Center for American Progress

Director of Community Impact, Early Matters Texas

Director of Rural Initiatives, Early Matters Texas

Early Childhood Policy Manager, Zero To Five Montana

Director of Early Childhood Policy, Colorado Children’s Campaign