A new plan from the Biden administration could significantly increase salaries for thousands of low-paid early childhood teachers caring for the country's poorest children but might force some centers to reduce their enrollment.
The Health and Human Services agency's proposed federal rule would require Head Start programs, which are struggling nationwide with staffing shortages, to raise teachers' salaries to put them on par with local public schoolteachers, and to beef up benefits. The requirement could raise wages by as much as $10,000 for Head Start teachers over the next seven years, the agency estimates.
