Sponsors (12)
The bill expands paid work‑study opportunities in Head Start—benefiting students and potentially adding staff capacity and safety checks for low‑income children—while imposing administrative/compliance costs, limiting immediate classroom impact because students don’t count toward ratios, and risking displacement of other campus jobs.
Students (postsecondary) gain paid, supervised work‑study placements in Head Start and Early Head Start, increasing hands‑on early‑education experience and employability.
Children from low‑income families served by Head Start may receive more adult support and program capacity as campuses place additional paid student workers in classroom and program roles.
Children’s safety is supported because student placements must follow Head Start personnel policies and pre‑employment/background checks before beginning work.
Head Start programs and postsecondary institutions face added administrative and legal compliance burdens (assurances, personnel policies, background checks), which can raise costs and deter some providers from participating.
Some students may lose access to other high‑need campus work‑study jobs (libraries, tutoring, campus services) if slots are reallocated to Head Start placements.
Because work‑study students cannot be left alone with children and do not count toward staff‑to‑child ratios, their placements may have limited classroom utility and could force programs to hire additional paid staff, increasing program and taxpayer costs.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Allows Federal work-study students to work in Head Start and Early Head Start, and requires programs to meet Head Start hiring, supervision, and personnel rules when they do.
Introduced June 25, 2025 by Kirsten Gillibrand · Last progress June 25, 2025
Expands the Federal work-study program so college students can be paid to work in child development and early learning programs, explicitly including Head Start and Early Head Start. Requires Head Start and Early Head Start programs that hire work-study students to follow existing Head Start hiring and personnel rules, to treat work-study students as additional paid staff who cannot be left alone with children and cannot be counted in staff-to-child ratios.