Head Start NPRM Comment - English Second Language

Your perspective, experiences and expertise are critical to informing key decisions about Head Start and the potential impacts of these decisions on the children and families the program serves. Use your voice today - tell the Department of Health and Human Services what you think of their proposal to change Head Start.
 
You can use the form below to share your perspective on the proposed changes with regard to students who speak English as a second language. The proposal would eliminate nearly all of the current standards that  ensure Head Start can support children learning the English language, replacing them with just a few, mostly vague requirements. Among other things, for students acquiring English the proposal would: 
 
  • Remove standards that allow teachers to meet children where they are and support learning English as they develop 
  • Remove standards that ensure screenings and assessments for disabilities are conducted in a language the child can understand
  • Require that all classroom instruction be delivered in English only, regardless of how much English the children speak or whether the children are even capable of speaking English (deaf children) 
  • Create serious safety concerns by removing standards that ensure an adult can speak with children in their native language in case of emergency 
     
For more information about the harms of this proposed rule, click on the learn more tab below. 
We would like to thank our friends at MAAC Project Head Start for developing much of this comment template.