A proposed English-only mandate for Head Start programs could backfire and actually make it harder for kids from Spanish-speaking households to learn English, research shows.

The federal government’s proposed rule change — part of a broad deregulation effort — runs contrary to 18 years of bilingual policy for Idaho’s migrant and seasonal Head Start program, which provides free services at 10 locations to 677 children from birth to age 5 who come from agricultural families.

“The research basically has stated that if children can get a firm foundation in their primary home language, then it’s easier to acquire a second language,” Kathy Bayless, the migrant and seasonal Head Start program director for the Community Council of Idaho, told EdNews on Wednesday.

But if the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services adopts a massive proposed overhaul of the Head Start performance standards, staff members would be required to conduct all education in English. The proposed-English only mandate for Head Start providers includes an exception for Native American programs that preserve tribal heritage.

The proposed changes are not yet in effect. The federal government must collect public comment for 60 days, ending on Oct. 6. Click here to submit a public comment.

For years, the federal government has provided support for bilingualism in Head Start programs, but, according to the proposed rule changes, those regulations are at odds with an executive order that President Donald Trump signed in March 2025, that designates English as the official language of the U.S.

“Learning English opens doors economically for families and helps individuals better engage with their communities,” according to the proposal. “The changes proposed … help achieve these goals as a key part of a young child’s education.”

The benefits of learning two languages at once

Alexandra Figueras-Daniel, a research professor at the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, agrees that kids should learn English. But the proposed rules conflict with decades of research.

“The idea is we absolutely want children to learn English, and we absolutely want them to be good readers of English,” Figueras-Daniel told EdNews last month. “Agreed. But the process by which we get to that is the one where we know — based on research — that suggests using the home language makes it easier, faster, and better.”

Two weeks after the federal government released the proposal, Figueras-Daniel and her colleague Christina Stephens published a policy brief titled, “An English-Only Mandate for Head Start Will Harm Children.”

“It will be harmful for lots of reasons,” Figueras-Daniel said. “But if we want to think of it first from the perspective of learning English, there’s potential that that process gets slowed.”

Although it may seem counterintuitive, Figueras-Daniel and Stephens wrote, teaching in a child’s home language as they acquire English can help children grasp concepts they might otherwise miss. It also ensures that the children continue to learn while they acquire English.

The brief cites a randomized control trial that looked at the experience of kids in dual language immersion programs and in English-only classrooms. It found that when kids from Spanish-speaking homes were instructed in dual language environments, they learned English at the same rate as kids who were in English-only classrooms — and they kept their Spanish skills.

“We rely on research like that, both in the early childhood space as well as the K-12 space, to really show that when you are supporting the home language robustly in a very designed and intentional way, that it actually has all of these ways that it actually supports children’s acquisition of English,” Figueras-Daniel said.

Supporting bilingualism in kids can also improve executive function, she said. When kids are learning two languages at once, research shows it can help them maintain focus, follow directions, shift between tasks and persist through challenges.

As Figueras-Daniel has worked quickly over the past few weeks to grab available research on bilingualism, she has reflected on how important it is for her, as a researcher, to translate all of this information to the public.

“I think the unfortunate part about this is that it’s bringing to surface the fact that so few people know about that research,” she said. “But from a cognitive and brain development perspective, we know better.”

Migrant program introduces kids to English

Idaho’s migrant and seasonal Head Start program complies with all of the same performance standards as traditional Head Start programs.

The only difference is the population it serves. Families must derive at least half of their income from agricultural work. The program’s calendar is adapted to the workflow of the agricultural system, according to Terry Blom, director of community relations, development and communication for the Community Council of Idaho.

Blom made it clear during an interview that the proposed rule changes are not yet in effect, and very seldom do proposals like this make it through the process without changes. Head Start standards are “always fluid,” he added, and there’s always a chance that providers have to adapt to new regulations.

But if the proposal is adopted, Blom said the nonprofit would use its parent council to let all parents know that this was a decision made outside of the organization, and they are simply complying with federal mandates.

“If the regulations came through and they were absolute and all the instruction had to be in English, it would make it far more difficult and be handicapping to the individuals that we serve,” Blom said.

The migrant and seasonal program slowly introduces kids to English. Bayless explained that infant rooms are primarily Spanish-only. Toddlers are introduced to English through songs and stories. At age 3, kids receive half-English and half-Spanish instruction. As kids transition to kindergarten, at age 4 and 5, they receive 90% of instruction in English.

“If there’s concepts that the children are still trying to grasp, we do it in their primary language,” Bayless said. “But we are trying to get them prepared and ready for the school district.”

If the proposal is adopted as is, her understanding is there might be some flexibility or exceptions.

“We feel very confident that if these changes get implemented, that we are going to have support and guidance on how to make the transition,” Bayless said.

For now, the migrant and seasonal programs are going to continue with business as usual.

“The guidance we’ve received so far is to continue with what’s already in place,” Bayless said. “Don’t make any changes. We don’t know. These are still just proposed. We don’t know if changes to this will still be happening.”