Source: Education Week
Capitol Hill’s budget arm says that among the many options federal lawmakers have for cutting the budget deficit, they could consider eliminating Head Start and federally supported school meal programs. Instead of the current funding and structure provided to school meal programs, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) outlines an approach familiar to many who deal with education policy and politics: block grants. The CBO also outlines an option that would eliminate Head Start. The savings? From 2020 to 2028, the CBO estimates the savings would add up to $92 billion. “The main argument for this option is that many of the children expected to be enrolled in Head Start in the future would be enrolled in alternative preschool or child-care programs (both public and private) if Head Start was eliminated,” the report states.