Lowering the Bar: An Analysis of How Replacing Head Start Standards with State Child Care Licensing Weakens Early Learning Across the United States
August 2026
Authors: Dr. Shantel Meek, Dr. Darielle Blevins, Dr. Brittany Alexander, Dr. Tunette Powell, Dr. Xigrid Soto-Boykin and Mario Cardona, JD
This report explores the policy distinctions between state child care center-based licensing standards and the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS). The analysis is grounded in developmental science and education research, and is informed by a review of state licensing policies, the HSPPS, and the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act.
Decades of research have found access to high quality early education is associated with positive outcomes in childhood and long-term outcomes in adulthood across health, education, and earnings. Based on these longitudinal impacts, economists have estimated that early childhood programs more than pay for themselves, with high returns on investment. But there’s a catch: these impressive long term outcomes and strong returns on investments are entirely contingent on the quality of early care and education programs. Unfortunately, across the United States today, the quality of early care and learning programs is too often not aligned with best practices and research.
The most robust set of high-quality standards across the early care and learning ecosystem in the United States today are the HSPPS, which govern the federally funded, locally operated Head Start program in every state in the country. HSPPS serve as a national guidepost for quality, impacting the early care and learning ecosystem beyond the walls of Head Start programs.
Recent policy proposals have suggested the possibility of undoing the HSPPS and instead requiring Head Start programs to adopt state child care licensing standards. It is important to understand the difference between state licensing standards and program performance standards. State licensing answers one question: What is the minimum set of standards required so children are not in danger? These state standards define the quality “floor” or the bare minimum needed to operate a child care program, and do not comprehensively address child development, learning, and school readiness, as that is not their function. By contrast, Head Start asks: What conditions produce lifelong improvements for children’s development, health, learning, and family well-being?
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Suggested Citation:
Meek, S., Blevins, D., Alexander, B., Powell, T., Soto-Boykin, X., & Cardona, M. (August, 2026). Lowering the Bar: An Analysis of How Replacing Head Start Standards with State Child Care Licensing Weakens Early Learning Across the United States. The Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University. https://cep.asu.edu/resources/An-Analysis-of-How-Replacing-Head-Start-Standards-with-State-Child-Care-Licensing-Weakens-Early-Learning-Across-the-United-States.
Related Articles:
Child Care Ratios and Quality: How Lower Adult-to-Child Ratios Support Young Children Head Start, Dual Language Learners, and Children With Disabilities: Why Inclusive Early Learning Matters Head Start and Discipline: How Emotional Safety Protects Young Children Head Start Inclusion: Why Children With Disabilities Need More Than Access
News Mentions:
The Washington Post | ABC News | Fox 40 | The 74 | The Seattle Times| K-12 Dive| The New York Times | The 74 | Governing
Frequently Asked Questions
The report demonstrates that replacing the federally mandated Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) with state child care licensing requirements significantly weakens early childhood education quality. While Head Start standards are designed to drive comprehensive child development, learning, and health, state licensing standards only establish a minimum safety "floor" required to operate legally.
State Child Care Licensing: Focuses on health, safety, and basic supervision—answering the minimum requirement to ensure children are not in physical danger.
Head Start Standards (HSPPS): Sets a national benchmark for holistic program quality, incorporating evidence-based practices in early learning, school readiness, family well-being, and health development.
Switching to state licensing standards would eliminate key quality safeguards, widen regional inequities in early care, and reduce support for school readiness, comprehensive health services, and family engagement across the United States.
The Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) are the federal quality standards governing all locally operated Head Start programs in the United States. Established under the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act, HSPPS define evidence-based requirements for early childhood education, teacher qualifications, child health and nutrition, family engagement, and developmental screening to ensure long-term school readiness.
State child care licensing standards are considered a "quality floor" because their primary legal function is basic risk prevention and physical protection—ensuring facilities are safe and children are not in danger. Unlike comprehensive performance standards, state licensing rules generally do not regulate or enforce high-quality curriculum, child assessment, family support services, or developmental outcomes.
Economists estimate that high-quality early childhood programs like Head Start yield a strong return on investment, returning up to $\$7$ to $\$12$ for every dollar invested. These financial returns stem from long-term societal benefits, including improved adult earnings, increased higher education attainment, better health outcomes, and reduced public expenditures in special education and criminal justice.
Replacing federal HSPPS with state licensing worsens educational disparities by removing uniform national standards. Because state child care licensing varies widely across the country, replacing HSPPS would create a patchwork system where children in states with weaker regulations lose critical access to structured early learning, health screenings, and family support, leading to lower kindergarten readiness.
The report Lowering the Bar: An Analysis of How Replacing Head Start Standards with State Child Care Licensing Weakens Early Learning Across the United States was authored by researchers at The Children's Equity Project (CEP) at Arizona State University, including S. Meek, D. Blevins, B. Alexander, T. Powell, X. Soto-Boykin, and M. Cardona.
The Children's Equity Project recommends:
Preserving HSPPS: Maintaining federal Head Start standards as the national benchmark for early childhood quality.
Raising State Licensing Floors: Strengthening state child care regulations rather than downgrading federal standards.
Protecting Comprehensive Services: Ensuring early care funding supports health, nutrition, and family well-being alongside basic supervision.