The Trump administration recently caused uproar from the Left by proposing the repeal of thousands of regulations in Head Start, an early education program for low-income children. Critics argue that the action strips the program of important standards. But in reality, these regulations have increasingly held back the very communities this program was supposed to put ahead.

Head Start was one of the hallmarks of President Lyndon Johnson’s war on poverty, with the goal of helping low-income children succeed in their education and development. But the program has long struggled to attain the outcomes policymakers promised.