Administration for Children and Families December 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

OHS invites public comment on several specific changes being considered for the CLASS condition of the Designation Renewal System (DRS) as outlined in the Head Start Program Performance Standards. We are considering changes to the CLASS condition with a goal of improving implementation and transparency of the DRS. Changes being considered include removal of the ``lowest 10 percent'' provision of the CLASS condition, an increase of the minimum thresholds for the Emotional Support and Classroom Organization domains to a score of 5, removal of the minimum threshold for the Instructional Support domain, and establishment of authority for the Secretary to set an absolute minimum threshold for the Instructional Support domain prior to the start of each fiscal year to be applied for DRS CLASS reviews in the same fiscal year. OHS requests feedback on these possible changes as well as alternative changes to the CLASS condition, particularly ways the Instructional Support threshold could be set and/or adjusted that would incentivize program improvement while acknowledging the current state of the field. OHS also invites feedback on other conditions of the DRS.