Head Start employees in Pennsylvania who are filing for unemployment compensation during summer recess this year may be in for a disappointment. In Montgomery County Head Start v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review,1 a recent decision by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, a Head Start program run by a nonprofit “direct-grantee” was held to qualify as an “educational institution” for the purposes of the state’s unemployment compensation (UC) statue. Because employees of “educational institutions” are not entitled to UC benefits during regularly scheduled school breaks, this recent ruling by Pennsylvania’s appellate court has the potential to significantly impact the unemployment compensation benefits available to Head Start employees in Pennsylvania during summer recess and could influence decisions in other states as well.
Five Head Start Act Provisions and the NPRM
The recent notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Office of Head Start, Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs, proposes to rescind and replace the entirety of the Head Start Program Performance Standards...