H.R. 9958
Head Start Expansion and Improvement Act of 2026
Sponsor: Jahana Hayes
22 cosponsors
- Mark Pocan
- Shontel M. Brown
- Adelita S. Grijalva
- Christopher R. Deluzio
- Cleo Fields
- Doris O. Matsui
- Eleanor Holmes Norton
- Frederica S. Wilson
- Greg Landsman
- Gwen Moore
- Jesús G. "Chuy" García
- Jonathan L. Jackson
- Kevin Mullin
- Lateefah Simon
- Nikki Budzinski
- Pablo José Hernández
- Raja Krishnamoorthi
- Seth Moulton
- Shri Thanedar
- Yvette D. Clarke
- Zoe Lofgren
- Emily Randall
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Head Start Expansion and Improvement Act of 2026
This bill reauthorizes through FY2032 and otherwise revises Head Start programs.
Specifically, the bill expands eligibility for Head Start programs to include families with incomes below 138% of the federal poverty level. The bill also adds a definition for public assistance under the Head Start Act to include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); Supplemental Security Income (SSI); the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
The bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a program to make grants to Head Start agencies (including Early Head Start agencies) to construct or improve facilities. HHS must also establish and carry out a program to make grants to Head Start agencies for increasing the compensation paid to employees.
The bill also provides student loan forgiveness for certain Head Start and Early Head Start child care workers. In particular, the Department of Education must cancel the outstanding balance of principal, interest, and fees due on Federal Direct Loans for a borrower who (1) has been employed full-time by a Head Start or Early Head Start program for three years, and (2) has provided care or instruction to children enrolled in such a program.
Text of the bill
Section 637 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9832) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(27) The term public assistance means public assistance programs including temporary assistance for needy families established under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), supplemental security income carried out under title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.), the supplemental nutrition assistance program under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children established under section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), and the State children’s health insurance programs under title XXI of the Social Security Act (1397aa et seq.).