Melillo Calls on San Jose Families to Defend Head Start Before October 6 Federal Comment Deadline

SAN JOSE, CA - Michael Melillo, parent and candidate for the San Jose Unified School District Board of Trustees, Area 4, is calling on San Jose families and educators to submit public comments on proposed federal changes to Head Start before the comment window closes on October 6.

Melillo's connection to Head Start is personal and long-standing. He served six years on the San Jose Library and Early Education Commission, including as its Chair, where the Commission studied early learning across the city and advocated for the programs that prepare San Jose's youngest children for kindergarten.

"On the Library and Early Education Commission, we spent years looking at what actually works for young children in San José, and Head Start came up over and over," said Melillo. "We saw it in the data and we heard it from families: children arriving at kindergarten ready to learn, parents connected to health care and support they would never have found on their own. Head Start is one of the best investments this country makes in its children."

The proposed federal rule would require Head Start instruction to be delivered only in English, and require income documentation from every family without exception, including families experiencing homelessness.

"San Jose is a city of many languages, and our city is better because of that," Melillo said. "A child who learns in both languages is not behind. They are ahead. Families that are experiencing homelessness already have enough challenges. Adding additional income verification requirements is cruel and unjustified."

Comments may be submitted at headstart.gov through October 6.

"I am running for school board because every child deserves a strong start and a fair chance," Melillo said. "That work does not begin in kindergarten. It begins in programs like Head Start, and now we can speak up and make sure it will still be there and available to them."

Michael Melillo is a parent of two San Jose Unified students, a former SJUSD Trustee, served six years on the San Jose Library and Early Education Commission, former chair of the district's Citizens Bond Oversight Committee, president of the Pioneer High School Education Foundation.

Paid for by Melillo for SJUSD Trustee 2026. FPPC #1489971