COVID-19 Mitigation Policy Requirement in Head Start Programs; Recission

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES <SUBAGY>Administration for Children and Families</SUBAGY> <CFR>45 CFR Part 1302</CFR> <RIN>RIN 0970-AD17</RIN> <SUBJECT>COVID-19 Mitigation Policy Requirement in Head Start Programs; Recission</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Office of Head Start (OHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Direct final rule; request for comments. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> This direct final rule (DFR) removes the requirement that Head Start programs have a COVID-19 mitigation policy. This requirement was included in the final rule titled “Mitigating the Spread of COVID-19 in Head Start Programs,” which ACF published on January 6, 2023. Specifically, this rescission removes the requirement from the Head Start Program Performance Standards (Performance Standards) that Head Start programs have a COVID-19 mitigation policy developed in consultation with their Health and Mental Health Services Advisory Committee (HMHSAC), formerly the Health Services Advisory Committee (HSAC). This DFR meets the deregulatory requirements of Executive Order 14192, <E T="03">Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,</E> and is aligned with Executive Order 14148, <E T="03">Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.</E> </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This DFR is effective on February 17, 2026 unless significant adverse comments are received by January 20, 2026. If significant adverse comments are received, notice will be published in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> before the effective date either withdrawing the rule or issuing a new final rule that responds to significant adverse comments. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> You may submit comments, identified by [docket number and/or RIN number] by any of the following methods: • <E T="03">Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.</E> Follow the instructions for submitting comments. • <E T="03">Mail:</E> Office of Head Start, Attention: Director of Policy and Planning, 330 C Street SW, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20201. <E T="03">Instructions:</E> All submissions received must include the agency name and docket number or Regulatory Information Number (RIN) for this rulemaking. All comments received will be posted without change to <E T="03">http://www.regulations.gov,</E> including any personal information provided. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Shawna Pinckney, Office of Head Start, 1-866-763-6481, <E T="03">OHS_Policy@acf.hhs.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Contents</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">I. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">II. Statutory Authority To Issue DFR</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">III. Discussion of Changes</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2"> Rescinding the Requirement for a COVID-19 Mitigation Policy (§ 1302.47(b)(9)) </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">Waiver of Notice and Comment Process</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">IV. Regulatory Process Matters</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">Regulatory Flexibility Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">Federalism Assessment Executive Order 13132</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act of 1999</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Background</HD> Since its inception in 1965, Head Start has been a leader in supporting children from low-income families to enter kindergarten healthy, prepared, and ready to thrive in school and life. Decades of evidence continue to affirm the positive outcomes for children and families who participate in and graduate from Head Start programs. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> The program was founded on research demonstrating that health and well-being are essential prerequisites for optimal learning and improved short- and long-term outcomes. OHS recognizes health as the cornerstone of school readiness, underscoring its critical role in the program's mission. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  Deming, D. (2009). Early Childhood Intervention and Life-Cycle Skill Development: Evidence from Head Start. <E T="03">American Economic Journal: Applied Economics,</E> 1:3, 111-134.; Lipscomb, S.T., Pratt, M.E., Schmitt, S.A., Pears, K.C., & Kim, H.K. (2013). School readiness is children living in non-parental care: Impacts of Head Start. <E T="03">Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 31</E> (1), 28-37. </FTNT> To ensure the safety and well-being of all children, families, and staff, the Head Start program prioritizes creating environments that are safe and conducive to learning. Section 1302.47 of the Performance Standards establishes comprehensive health and safety requirements for Head Start programs (45 CFR 1302.47). This section sets forth expectations for programs to implement policies and practices that safeguard children during program hours and maintain facilities and equipment in safe and sanitary conditions. Importantly, the requirements within § 1302.47 are designed with flexibility, enabling programs to address a wide range of health and safety considerations—including communicable disease prevention—tailored to their community's specific needs. In response to the Biden Administration's COVID-19 Action Plan, “Path out of the Pandemic,” ACF published an interim final rule with comment period (IFC), <E T="03">Vaccine and Mask Requirements to Mitigate the Spread of COVID-19 in Head Start Programs,</E> on November 30, 2021. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> The IFC required (1) universal masking for individuals 2 years of age and older, subject to some exceptions; and (2) vaccination by January 31, 2022 for Head Start staff, contractors whose activities involve contact with or providing direct services to children and families, and volunteers working in classrooms or directly with children. Soon after the publication of the IFC, several court decisions placed a preliminary injunction on the IFC, meaning Head Start grant recipients in those states were not required to comply with the requirements in the IFC. Specifically, on December 31, 2021, the court placed a preliminary injunction on the IFC in Texas, and on January 1, 2022, the court placed a preliminary injunction on 24 other states. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> On January 6, 2023, ACF published a final rule in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> removing the universal masking requirement, and instead requiring Head Start programs to adopt an evidence-based COVID-19 mitigation policy, developed in consultation with their HMHSAC, formerly Health Services Advisory Committee (HSAC). On March 31, 2023, the court vacated the IFC, which took effect April 7, 2023, removing the requirement for vaccination and testing. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start. “Vaccine and Mask Requirements To Mitigate the Spread of COVID-19 in Head Start Programs.” Interim Final Rule with Comment Period. <E T="04">Federal Register</E> 86, no. 228 (November 30, 2021): 68052-68101. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">Texas et al.</E> v. <E T="03">Becerra, et al.,</E> No. 21-cv-00300, 2021 WL 6198109 (N.D. Tex. Dec. 31, 2021) and <E T="03">Louisiana, et al.</E> v. <E T="03">Becerra, et al.,</E> 21-cv-04370, 2022 WL 16571 (Jan. 1, 2022 W.D. La.). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>  State of Texas v. Becerra, 577 F. Supp. 3d 527 (N.D. Tex. 2021). </FTNT> On April 10, 2023, President Biden signed legislation ending the COVID-19 national emergency declared under the National Emergencies Act. <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> Subsequently, on May 11, 2023, the COVID-19 public health emergency expired. In response to the court vacating the IFC and the end to the public health emergency, on June 26, 2023, ACF issued a final rule to remove the vaccine and testing requirements, rescinding those requirements from the IFC issued on November 30, 2021, and removing them from the Performance Standards. <SU>6</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>  H.J. Res. 7, 118th Cong. (2023), Public Law 118-3 (Apr. 10, 2023). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start. “Removal of the Vaccine Requirements for Head Start Programs.” Final Rule. <E T="04">Federal Register</E> 86, no. 41326 (June 26, 2023): 41326-41334. </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Statutory Authority To Issue DFR</HD> We publish this direct final rule (DFR) under the authority granted to the Secretary of Health and Human Services by sections 641A of the Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a), as amended by the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-134). Under these sections, the Secretary is required to establish performance standards and other regulations for Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Specifically, sections 641A(a)(1) and (2) of the Act requires the Secretary to “modify, as necessary, program performance standards by regulation applicable to Head Start agencies and programs.”  <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> This rule meets the statutory requirements Congress put forth in its 2007 bipartisan reauthorization of the Head Start program and addresses Congress's mandate that called for the Secretary to review and revise the Performance Standards. <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> The Secretary has determined that the removal of this requirement in the Performance Standards contained in this regulation is necessary, given there is no longer a COVID-19 pandemic, and the associated Public Health Emergency ended. <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>  See section 641A(a)(1) and (2) of the Act. </FTNT> <F ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 26k characters. 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