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New York City Council
Opposing the federally proposed rule change titled, “Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs” and calling on the Federal Government to prioritize protecting and growing access to high-quality education for young children
Read summaries and jump into the video at the segment start.
Council staff welcome attendees to the New York City Council Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education vote and instruct everyone to silence devices and stay away from the dais. The chair is then invited to begin.
Chair Jennifer Gutiérrez greets everyone, identifies herself as chair of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education, and welcomes attendees to the vote. She acknowledges Councilmembers Gale Brewer, Simcha Felder, Julie Won, and Rita Joseph, and notes Kevin Riley is expected shortly.
Chair Gutiérrez announces that the subcommittee will consider Resolution 650, which she sponsors. The resolution opposes the federally proposed rule titled 'Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs' and calls on the federal government to protect and grow access to high-quality early education.
Chair Gutiérrez explains that on August 6, 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the proposed rule. She says it would remove or weaken standards governing eligibility verification, hours of care, and teacher language by mandating English-only instruction.
Chair Gutiérrez notes that Head Start was established in the 1960s to fight poverty and has long been considered by experts a gold standard of early learning. She frames the program as a proven model now under threat.
Chair Gutiérrez says research shows Head Start participants outperform peers on every cognitive and social-emotional domain measured by kindergarten entry. She adds that as adults, former participants have higher graduation and degree attainment, less public assistance use, lower poverty rates, and higher earnings.
Chair Gutiérrez argues the proposed changes would make Head Start harder to access and lower quality for nearly 40,000 children across New York State. She says the rule would fundamentally change what Head Start is and urges colleagues to vote for the resolution.
Chair Gutiérrez thanks subcommittee staff Julia Goldsmith-Pinkham, Katie Salina, Grace Amado, Andrew Lane Lawless, and Margaret Barnsley, as well as her own staff Frank, Angelica, and Madeline. She then tells the clerk the subcommittee is ready to begin.
Committee Clerk William Martin identifies himself and announces a roll-call vote on Resolution 650 before the Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education. He begins by calling Chair Gutiérrez.
Clerk Martin calls Chair Gutiérrez, and an aye vote is recorded. The clerk notes the first affirmative vote.
Clerk Martin calls Councilmembers Riley, Brewer, Joseph, Felder, and Santosuosso. Councilmember Brewer responds 'Yes' and Councilmember Joseph is recorded as voting aye; other names are called as the roll proceeds.
Clerk Martin calls Councilmember Kevin Riley, who responds 'Aye.' This adds another affirmative vote to the roll call on Resolution 650.
Clerk Martin announces six affirmative votes, zero negative, and no abstentions, so Resolution 650 is adopted by the committee. At the chair's request, the roll is held open.
After a long pause, Clerk Martin resumes the roll call for the Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education on Resolution 650. He calls Councilmember Kayla Santosuosso, who votes aye.
Clerk Martin reports the final vote as seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative, and no abstentions. He confirms to the chair that the full committee has adopted Resolution 650.