The 2025–2026 Head Start PIR Checklist: What’s New, What’s Next, and Why It Matters

As Head Start programs prepare to navigate a new program year, one document stands as both a regulatory requirement and a powerful organizational tool: the Program Information Report (PIR).

The advance release of the 2025–2026 PIR presents more than a regulatory update — it offers programs the opportunity to move from reactive compliance to strategic alignment, ensuring data not only satisfies federal reporting but fuels meaningful decision-making. This year's changes are more than formatting updates — they signal a broader evolution in how Head Start captures, defines, and reports impact.

The Broader Context: Why This PIR Update Matters

Every year, the PIR evolves — and the 2025–2026 version does more than tweak fields or update deadlines. It reflects a shifting landscape in early childhood education, especially around equity, access, and data transparency.

For leaders guiding Head Start and Early Head Start systems, PIR is not just data collection — it's strategic positioning.

This time, it brings:

• Broader eligibility categories and income flexibility

• Modernized racial/ethnic identity representation

• Clearer language for educators and administrators

• Curriculum and screening tool updates that match today’s learning environment

These changes go beyond surface-level adjustments. They represent intentional, strategic enhancements aimed at more accurately reflecting the needs and complexity of the families Head Start programs serve. They also mirror a broader federal momentum — from the Office of Management and Budget’s equity policies to an expanding focus on regional affordability, cultural responsiveness, and inclusive eligibility frameworks.

For organizations that can pivot early, this is an opportunity to:

• Streamline internal systems

• Strengthen program narratives

• Build cross-year data continuity for deeper analysis

What’s New: Leadership-Level Changes to Prioritize

1. Eligibility Redefined

• Programs may now document income-based eligibility adjustments due to excessive housing costs (A.15).

• Two new eligibility categories were added:

  • Migrant/Seasonal Head Start: agricultural employment-based eligibility (A.13.g)

  • AIAN Programs: service-area-based eligibility (A.13.h)

These additions signal a greater emphasis on contextualizing need, not just verifying it.

2. Identity Data Modernization

• Aligned with OMB Directive No. 15, race and ethnicity data is now collected in parallel fields, enabling individuals to be counted across multiple racial/ethnic identities.

• This is a critical enhancement for tribal programs, multilingual families, and service equity tracking.

3. Instructional Integrity

• Revised curriculum fields include widely-used, evidence-based tools such as Tools of the Mind, Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence, and The Gee Whiz Curriculum.

• Dropdown enhancements across sections C.29–C.31 improve reporting fidelity and program comparability.

2025–2026 PIR Readiness Checklist

Use this checklist to ensure your program is fully prepared to collect, verify, and report the required PIR data — while accounting for these key changes.

1. General Preparation

• Review the full 2025–2026 PIR Form and Change Highlights document

• Download guidance and reference materials from the PIR Resource Hub

• Identify staff responsible for each PIR section (Program Info, Staff, Child/Family Services, Grant Level)

2. Eligibility & Enrollment

• NEW: Track eligibility for:

  • Migrant/Seasonal families based on agricultural employment (A.13.g)

  • AIAN families within approved service areas (A.13.h)

• NEW: Document housing cost adjustments for income calculations (A.15)

• Validate eligibility documentation for all enrolled children and pregnant women

• Review use of over-income and 130% poverty allowances under 1302.12(c–d)

• Ensure cumulative and funded enrollment are accurately categorized by source

3. Demographic Reporting

• NEW: Report race and/or ethnicity as multiple, equal-value categories (A.26, A.27, B.13, B.14)

• Ensure your internal systems can capture multiracial and multiethnic identities

• Verify data for language, home language, and dual language learners

4. Program Options & Attendance

• Review and categorize all enrollment slots by program type:

  • Center-based

  • Home-based

  • Family child care

  • Locally designed options

• Confirm attendance tracking meets PIR definitions (during program year, not calendar year)

• Document transitions, turnover, and child outcomes per program type

5. Curriculum, Screening & Assessment

• NEW: Update internal dropdowns to include the 20+ newly listed curricula:

  • Beautiful Beginnings, Tools of the Mind, The Gee Whiz Curriculum, etc.

• Ensure screening and assessment tools align with revised naming conventions (C.29–C.31)

• Document fidelity to curriculum and observational tools used

6. Staff & Qualifications

• Validate staff counts by role and education level

• Confirm use of updated terminology:

  • “Bachelor’s” instead of “Baccalaureate”

  • “Advanced” degree includes master’s or doctoral

• Check salary data by education level (B.11–B.12)

• Capture turnover and language abilities of staff accurately

7. Family & Community Engagement

• Verify family service outcomes (job training, father engagement, housing assistance)

• Accurately report homeless and foster care support provided

• Confirm data on parent education and number of families served

8. System & Submission Checks

• Use HSES validation tools to catch errors before final submission

• Prepare to report by August 31, 2026 or as soon as your program year ends

• Store documentation to support reported values for audit or federal review

Optional — GoEngage Optimization

If using GoEngage:

• Map 2025–2026 PIR fields to your internal data sources

• Run pre-submission validations and error checks

• Export directly to HSES-ready file format

GoEngage tip and best practice: Monitor your PIR data all year long. Leadership and management should use the Snapshots feature in Agency PIR to save snapshots on a recurring basis for comparison over time. If activated for your program, staff can use My PIR as a personal report card. Monitor the progress and completeness on a regular basis to support cleaner data, faster corrections, and more accurate reporting.

👉 Learn more about PIR tools in GoEngage.

Turn Compliance into Capacity with GoEngage

For executive teams, aligning to the PIR shouldn’t just be a compliance task. It should be a catalyst for institutional insight.

GoEngage is the trusted platform that helps leadership teams:

• Connect day-to-day service delivery to federal reporting logic

• Build staff confidence with guided PIR preparation workflows

• Automate validation, error detection, and field mapping

• Generate fully HSES-compatible exports — clean, compliant, and audit-ready

For complex, multi-site programs, GoEngage also supports role-based access, real-time collaboration, and API integration with third-party data systems.

👉 Learn more about PIR tools in GoEngage.

Leading with Insight

Ultimately, the PIR is as strong as the systems that support it. Programs that build data capacity before deadlines are more agile, more adaptive, and more effective in telling their story.

As you guide your team through the 2025–2026 transition, remember: compliance is just the floor. Strategic alignment is the ceiling.

Learn how GoEngage can strengthen your PIR infrastructure and drive long-term performance improvements.

👉 Schedule a demo today