August 31, 2026
State Strategies
On August 7, 2026, the Administration for Children and Families, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, proposed significant changes to Head Start, the nation’s high-quality early education program for children from low-income families.
Eve Del Real, president of the Arizona Head Start Association and Read On Arizona advisory board member, recently appeared on Arizona Horizon to discuss concerns raised by the community about the potential changes to the program. “There is real concern about the impact and what that will do in terms of the service that we’re providing for families,” she said. Watch the full interview.
High-quality early learning programs support language and literacy development and help young children be ready for school and ready to learn to read. Expanding access to high-quality early learning is a key strategy of Arizona Literacy Plan 2030.
"Head Start and Early Head Start are cornerstones of Arizona’s early childhood system,” said Lori Masseur, director of early learning for Read On Arizona. “Any changes that reduce its quality components would affect that system as a whole. Arizona needs more quality early learning programs, not less.”
The changes are currently open for a 60-day public comment period. Anyone can submit formal comments through www.regulations.gov or by email at deregulation@acf.hhs.gov. Comments must be submitted by October 6, 2026 and should reference Docket No. ACF-2026-0595 and/or RIN number 0970-AD30 in the subject line of the message.
