‘We love our kids, and it terrifies us’: Local providers, families fear proposed Head Start changes will have devastating consequences

The early childcare program serves approximately 14,000 children in the state

By Will Denner, Staff writer

October 8, 2026 8:02 am

Children gather for lunchtime at the Battle Ground Early Learning Center on Monday morning. (Photos By Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)

The Battle Ground Early Learning Center is pictured on Monday morning.

A youngster gets practice with shapes during playtime at Battle Ground Early Learning Center on Monday morning. Educational Opportunities for Children and Families’ leaders are sounding the alarm about proposed changes to Head Start. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)

Milah Collins, 4, in orange, joins fellow students during the wiggle dance at the Battle Ground Early Learning Center on Monday morning. In August, the Trump administration proposed an overhaul of Head Start that would eliminate most of the federal early childhood program’s regulations. At top, a child reaches out for help with pouring a glass of milk during lunchtime at the Battle Ground Early Learning Center. (Photos by Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)

A child reaches out for help with pouring a glass of milk during lunchtime at the Battle Ground Early Learning Center on Monday morning. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)

A bus for the Battle Ground Early Learning Center is pictured on Monday morning.

For the first time in its 60-year history, Southwest Washington’s Educational Opportunities for Children and Families is facing a direct attack in how it operates its Head Start program, said Rekah Strong, the nonprofit’s chief executive officer.

The Department of Health and Human Services issued a notice of proposed rulemaking changes to Head Start in August that would eliminate some 1,400 regulations and leave many standards up to state and local childcare licensing, the Associated Press reported. The notice said the changes would reduce regulatory burdens, give more authority to state and local jurisdictions and “refocus federal oversight on core statutory priorities,” among other things.

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