# COVID-19 Mitigation Policy Requirement in Head Start Programs; Recission
> **Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration** · Direct final rule; request for comments. · Published 2025-12-19 · Effective 2026-02-17 · 90 FR 59397
## Document
- **Document number:** 2025-23452
- **Category:** mental-health
- **Sub-agency:** Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
- **Federal Register citation:** 90 FR 59397
- **CFR reference:** 45 CFR 1302
- **Publication date:** 2025-12-19
- **Effective date:** 2026-02-17
## Abstract

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.

## Source
- [Federal Register document](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/19/2025-23452/covid-19-mitigation-policy-requirement-in-head-start-programs-recission)
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