Documents › Agency rules › 2025-23452
Health and Human Services Department, Children and Families Administration
COVID-19 Mitigation Policy Requirement in Head Start Programs; Recission
Published December 19, 2025. Takes effect February 17, 2026. printed at 90 FR 59397. amending 45 CFR 1302.
Head Start centers had to have a plan for COVID. This drops that duty.
What the Rule Says It Does
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, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, and is aligned with Executive Order 14148, Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.
This is the rule's own summary, as the Federal Register prints it.
The Order It Names
The rule names this order itself. What it does about it is a reading, and none is recorded here.
How This Rule Is Quoted
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