New NAEYC survey: Educators say deregulation would push them out of early childhood education

A large majority of early childhood educators say regulations protecting children’s health and safety, staffing ratios, and educator qualifications are essential to keeping them in the field — and that rolling those protections back, as federal and state policymakers increasingly propose, would drive them out of the classroom.

That is a central finding of Coherence, Not Cuts: Educator Perspectives on How to Improve ECE Regulation, a new national survey from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) that reached 3,891 early childhood professionals across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico in July. The survey also shows that providers see real opportunities to reduce administrative burden by improving coordination among the many agencies that oversee their programs without weakening the underlying standards.

The findings arrive as the U.S. Administration for Children and Families advances a proposal to deregulate Head Start, including rolling back staff-to-child ratio and group-size requirements and eliminating certain staff qualification and training mandates. The Administration has argued the resulting savings could allow more than 200,000 children to be served by the program without sacrificing program quality — a claim the survey’s findings directly refute. In recent years, several states have pursued similar deregulatory measures amid funding shortfalls.

“The path forward isn’t deregulation but improved coordination,” said Michelle Kang, CEO of NAEYC. “Policymakers can meaningfully reduce the administrative burden on programs and educators by better aligning the systems that oversee them without rolling back the protections that keep children safe and educators in the classroom; and without undermining the foundations of quality. No amount of regulatory streamlining substitutes for the sustained public investment this field still needs.”

Providers See Regulations as Essential, and Deregulation as a Threat to the Workforce

When asked what would happen if regulatory protections were loosened, educators were unambiguous. A majority said increasing group sizes and staff-to-child ratios would make it harder to meet children’s needs and increase burnout among workers in the field. A majority of educators say reducing staff-child ratio requirements and reduced qualification and credentialing requirements would increase their likelihood of leaving the profession altogether.

The Real Burden is Duplication, not Regulation

Providers report largely positive relationships with state licensing personnel and general confidence navigating individual requirements. The burden, according to respondents, comes from the number of separate systems providers must satisfy simultaneously, often with duplicative paperwork and reporting requirements.

• 60% said they must submit the same information to multiple agencies or entities.
• 56% said administrative and regulatory paperwork takes up more time than they expected when they entered the field.
• 50% said they perform licensing and compliance work on unpaid time.

The survey also finds continued strain on the broader workforce: nearly 20% of respondents said they are considering leaving the field in the next year, and 8% of program leaders said they are considering permanently closing their program. Respondents said the three supports more consequential to keeping programs open than regulatory relief alone were facility funding, increased compensation and benefits, and predictable payment practices.

“If I had to care for more children, it would be harder to give each child the individual attention and support they need,” said one lead teacher from Illinois who responded to the survey. “It could also make it more difficult to manage the classroom, keep children safe, and build strong relationships with each child and their family.”

NAEYC’s survey builds on its January 2026 workforce survey, which found growing affordability pressures for both providers and families. Taken together, the two surveys point to a workforce contending with rising costs, insufficient compensation, and burnout.    

Methodology

The online survey was created and conducted by NAEYC using SurveyMonkey and represents the responses of a non-randomized sample of 3,891 individuals working in early childhood education settings who completed the survey in English or Spanish between July 13–27, 2026. Respondents represented providers in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico; 24% reported working in home-based childcare settings and 78% reported working in center-based care (categories are not mutually exclusive).

About NAEYC

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. In 2026, we celebrate 100 years of advancing a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and supporting all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children. Today, the association comprises tens of thousands of individual members of the early childhood community and 50 Affiliates across the country, all committed to delivering on the promise of high-quality early learning.