Head Start and community‑school leaders press Congress for sustained and expanded funding

Witnesses at the House Appropriations Subcommittee's public witness hearing urged sustained and increased federal investments in Head Start, community schools and education research and development.

Jennifer Carroll, assistant director for children's services at the Community Action Partnership of North Alabama, said Head Start provides comprehensive services to children from disadvantaged backgrounds and asked the subcommittee to fund Head Start at $14,900,000,000 in fiscal year 2026 and to adopt a 3.2 percent cost‑of‑living adjustment. "Head Start is a lifeline for families seeking to achieve the American dream," Carroll told the panel, adding that her organization spent more than $32 million in North Alabama last year and maintains a local procurement footprint.

Ray Saldana, president and CEO of Communities In Schools, described the organization’s integrated student‑supports model, which places site coordinators in schools to connect students to services. Saldana said federal investments in Title I, Title IV‑A and programs such as AmeriCorps and WIOA amplify local impact and leverage additional state, local and private dollars: "For every federal dollar that supports integrated student supports, we leverage an additional $4 from state, local, and private resources."

Sarah Shapiro, executive director of the Alliance for Learning Innovation, testified on federal education research and development priorities and asked the subcommittee to fund the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) at $900,000,000 and the Education Innovation and Research program at $284,000,000 in FY26. Shapiro said federal R&D has produced measurable gains in literacy and supports states in adopting evidence‑based curricula.

Subcommittee members praised Head Start and community schools as proven programs and warned of proposals to reduce Title I and other education funding. Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro recounted her long support for community‑school investments and urged witnesses to mobilize local voices to protect those programs.

Witnesses suggested earmarked facility grants and competitive awards to expand Head Start capacity and to support AIAN (American Indian/Alaska Native) programs, and described workforce shortages in early childhood education as a major constraint to expanding services.

No formal votes were held; the testimony will be included in the public hearing record for consideration during appropriations negotiations.