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Amends higher education and Head Start laws to clarify how Federal Work-Study (FWS) funds may be used in child development and early learning settings and to set clear rules for college students who work in Head Start or Early Head Start through FWS. It requires Head Start programs that hire work-study students to provide assurances of compliance with Head Start personnel requirements and imposes background check, supervision, and non-counting-in-ratios limits for those students to protect children and maintain program staffing standards.
Amend Section 441(c)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 by striking the words "literacy training" and inserting [text not shown in this section].
Amend Section 443(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 by, in paragraph (10), "by striking after the semicolon;" (text to be struck is not specified in this section).
Redesignate paragraph (11) of Section 443(b) as paragraph (12).
Add a new paragraph (11) to Section 443(b) requiring that any Head Start program, including an Early Head Start program, that employs students through a work-study program under this part must provide assurances that it will comply with the requirements of sections 645A(j) and 648A(h), respectively, of the Head Start Act (statutory citations as shown in the amendment).
Adds a new subsection (j) to Section 645A (Early Head Start) that sets rules for students serving in Early Head Start through a work-study program.
Who is affected and how:
College students participating in Federal Work-Study who seek placements in Head Start/Early Head Start will be able to work in those settings but must clear required hiring checks, comply with program personnel policies, and accept limits on duties (e.g., never left alone with children and not counted in staffing ratios). This preserves child safety but may reduce the range of tasks students can perform.
Head Start and Early Head Start programs (grantees and delegates) will be required to provide statutory assurances about compliance and implement personnel checks and additional supervision for work-study students. Programs will need to update hiring and onboarding processes, and they cannot rely on work-study students to meet required staffing ratios; this may limit how much programs can use FWS labor to meet service delivery needs.
Institutions of higher education participating in FWS will need to coordinate with Head Start programs to ensure students meet background check and personnel requirements before placement; financial aid offices and placement coordinators may incur extra administrative work.
Children and families served by Head Start/Early Head Start benefit from clearer child-safety protections and the assurance that counted staff meet statutory personnel standards.
Federal agencies and oversight entities administering Head Start and FWS programs will need to incorporate these statutory changes into guidance, monitoring, and grant oversight. Because the bill does not provide new funding, most compliance costs (background checks, training, additional supervision) will fall to existing program budgets, potentially requiring reallocation of resources or administrative adjustments.
Overall effect: targeted statutory fixes to reconcile FWS placement opportunities with Head Start child-safety and staffing standards. Changes are operational rather than funding increases, emphasizing compliance and supervision over substituting lower-cost student labor for professional staff.
Adds a new subsection (j) to Section 645A (42 U.S.C. 9840a) establishing rules for students serving in Early Head Start programs through Higher Education Act work-study, including pre-employment compliance with section 648A(g)(3), adherence to personnel policies, and restrictions on unsupervised contact with children and counting toward staff-to-child ratios.
Adds a new subsection (h) to Section 648A (42 U.S.C. 9843a) establishing rules for students serving in Head Start programs (not Early Head Start) through Higher Education Act work-study, including pre-employment compliance with subsection (g)(3), adherence to personnel policies, and restrictions on unsupervised contact with children and counting toward staff-to-child ratios.
Amends subsection 441(c)(1) of the Higher Education Act by striking the phrase 'literacy training' and inserting new text (insertion text not provided in section).
Modifies subsection 443(b) (agreement requirements): strikes text after the semicolon in paragraph (10); redesignates existing paragraph (11) as paragraph (12); and adds a new paragraph (11) that requires assurances that any Head Start program, including an Early Head Start program, employing students through a work-study program under this part will comply with the requirements of sections 645A(j) and 648A(h) of the Head Start Act (citing 42 U.S.C. 9840a(j)).
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced June 25, 2025 by Kirsten Gillibrand · Last progress June 25, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate