Markup and discussion of legislation to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) began on June 11 in the Senate Help, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. ESEA was last reauthorized in 2002 and Congress has attempted to reauthorize it since 2007. HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D- IA) introduced the latest incarnation of the statute, Strengthening America's Schools Act (SASA), last week with the support of all committee Democrats. Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduced his own version of the statute last week, Every Child Ready for College or Career, which was also debated during the markup.
The markup began with opening statements by Sens. Harkin and Alexander. While both expressed a desire to come together on a bipartisan bill, the ideological differences on the role the federal government should play in education eventually proved to be too big. During his opening statement Sen. Harkin stressed the need for a partnership between federal, state and local governments. In addition, he talked about how SASA maintains requirements many states currently have through ESEA waivers. Sen. Alexander used his opening statement to discuss his vision of states being free from the mandates in No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the current version of ESEA. He believes that Sen. Harkin’s bill continues those mandates, creating a “national school board,” which he adamantly opposes. Sen. Alexander also noted that the divergent views on the federal government’s role in education is reflected in the size of the two bills: Sen. Harkin’s bill is 1150 pages, compared to Sen. Alexander’s 220 page bill. The debate over the federal government’s role in education continued while discussing Sen. Alexander’s substitute bill amendment. After considerable discussion between senators of both parties, Sen. Alexander’s bill amendment failed by a party line vote of 10-12.
From the afterschool perspective, Sen. Kay Hagan’s (D-NC) amendment to include increased learning time as part of 2 of the 4 school turnaround models would codify existing Department of Education policy. While speaking in support of the amendment Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) noted that increased learning time can include a partnership with high quality afterschool programs. Sen. Alexander argued that increased learning time is only useful if the underlying schools, teachers and support staff are quality educators. The amendment passed by a voice vote with no audible objections. This previous blog includes more on the impact of the bill on afterschool programs.
At the conclusion of the markup, Chairman Harkin reiterated his hope that the bill would move to the Senate floor for debate. He and Sen. Alexander said that they would like the bill to receive a full debate from the Senate and be subject to an open and inclusive amendment process on the floor.
Of the 40 amendments that had been filed before the two-day proceedings, 10 were adopted—nine from Democrats and one from a Republican. Of course, the partisan vote on the final bill conveys the philosophical differences between the parties on the federal role in K-12 education. The House Education and the Workforce Committee is expected to mark up their ESEA reauthorization bill later this month.
There's still time for friends of afterschool to email representatives and senators to emphasize the value and importance of afterschool and summer learning programs through June as the education committees discuss ESEA.
As the official start of summer nears, things have been heating up here in D.C.—and not just the temperature. Congress has really kicked into action on reauthorizations. Check out Erik Peterson’s blog posts on all the recent Congressional activity for more details on that.
But, federal law makers can’t even compete with the work that state legislators have been doing to support afterschool and summer learning in recent months. In fact, a number of state legislatures recently passed (not just introduced!) afterschool related legislation:
In Illinois, legislators demonstrated their commitment to supporting children and youth in the hours after school by passing a 2014 state budget that included a new $10 million afterschool funding stream to be administered by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, a 7 percent increase to Teen REACH funding—from $8.2 million to $8.8 million, funding for local afterschool initiatives like After School Matters and continued support for child care.
In Massachusetts, the legislature voted to increase the After School and Out of School Time (ASOST) Quality Grant by 15 percent, ensuring the first new dollars for the grant since 2009. Massachusetts also saw the continued investment of $3 million to the Gateway Cities-Afterschool and Summer Enrichment & Acceleration Academies for English Language Learners and increases for the arts, summer learning and violence prevention programs. Check out the Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership’s recap of the final recommendations for all afterschool and youth-related budget line items. Additionally, the Governor’s STEM Council prioritized out-of-school time programs and its partnership with the Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership through a March 2013 announcement of incentive fund awards to three regional STEM networks.
In Texas, legislation establishing an Expanded Learning Opportunities Council was passed by both houses. The Council is the first afterschool and summer dedicated policy in Texas, which makes it a big win for Texas advocates and lays the groundwork for future legislative activity in the state. Texas now joins a number of other states—including Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Nevada and Iowa—that have expanded learning opportunity legislative task forces, commissions or studies. Check out the National Conference of State Legislatures’ brief on State Policies Supporting Learning Outside the School Day for more info on state policy and afterschool.
Kudos to the afterschool and summer learning advocates in these states for helping move this legislation along. These are especially big wins given the budget challenges plaguing states today and are a clear sign of how much state legislators value the role of afterschool and summer programs in keeping kids safe, inspiring learning and supporting working families. If you’ve recently had a legislative win in your state, add it to the discussion here by commenting below!
Last week Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Richard Burr (R-NC), Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduced the bipartisan Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2013. The bill reauthorizes the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) for the first time in more than 17 years. Under the legislation, states would be required to ensure that all child care providers who care for children through the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) receive health and safety training in specific areas, comprehensive background checks, and on-site monitoring. The legislation does recognize the specific training and support needed for school-age caregivers.
More than 500,000 providers serve about 1.6 million low-income children through CCDF, including about 600,000 school-age children in afterschool, before-school and summer learning settings. Children ages 6 to 13 represent about 33 percent of all children receiving CCDF assistance. School-age children receive about $1.7 billion of all CCDF funds. The bill authors are soliciting feedback on the legislation prior to scheduling a mark-up of the bill. The Afterschool Alliance is preparing recommendations for the bill’s sponsors that would strengthen the school-age care components.
Do you provide care to children through CCDF? Please contact us with feedback on the reauthorization bill.
The bill requires states to devote more of their funding to quality initiatives, such as training, professional development and professional advancement of the child care workforce. The bill ensures that CCDBG providers meet certain health and safety requirements related to: prevention and control of infectious diseases, first aid and CPR, child abuse prevention, administration of medication, prevention of and response to emergencies due to food allergies, prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and shaken baby syndrome, building and physical premises safety, and emergency response planning. The legislation gives families more stability in the CCDBG program and works to improve early childhood care by requiring states to focus on infant and toddler quality initiatives. Finally, the bill requires mandatory background checks for child care providers in the CCDBG program. The text of the legislation can be accessed here.
Separate from the reauthorization bill, last month the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the Department of Health and Human Services announced proposed regulations for CCDF. Join Shannon Rudisill, director of the ACF's Office of Child Care, on June 14 at 1 p.m. EDT for a webinar where she will present on the new rule proposal, including its potential impact on afterschool and school-age programs and providers.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)—chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee—along with the support of all of the Democrats on the Committee, has posted an Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization bill to replace the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. The committee is expected to discuss and mark up the bill tomorrow. A Republican bill, Every Child Ready for College or Career Act, led by HELP Committee Ranking Member Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), was released late last week.
Chairman Harkin’s bill, the Strengthening America’s Schools Act of 2013, supports teachers and principals to help provide high-quality instruction, ensures disadvantaged students get the supports they need to succeed, and focuses federal attention on supporting states and districts in turning around low-performing schools and closing achievement gaps.
With regard to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative the bill is very similar to the one that passed the Committee in the fall of 2011. Our main concern is that in an era of sequestration and budget cuts, the language in the bill will dilute and divert much-needed afterschool dollars to pay for a longer school day. In addition, the bill would allow 21st CCLC to fund activities normally funded by local education agencies such as teacher planning time and more time in a traditional classroom. It would also allow the funds to be used for wholescale school redesign, which could be an expensive drain on a stretched funding stream. There are other ways to fund a longer school day without cutting afterschool programming and these are included in Sen. Harkin’s bill. Currently, more than $13 billion in federal funding through Title I, Race to the Top, School Improvements Grants and I3 grants are already available to fund a longer school day.
We do applaud changes in the bill that allow for better reporting and data sharing between schools and community based organizations working with students. Specifically Section 4107 of the bill, which addresses 21st CCLC, states:
funds would still flow by formula to state education agencies that would then hold competitions at the state level. Partnerships of local education agencies (LEA) and public entities or non-profit organizations would be eligible to apply for funding, with either the LEA or the public entity or non-profit serving as the lead funded entity.
Like the 2011 Senate ESEA legislation, eligible entities will have the option of applying for funds to provide afterschool, summer learning and before-school programming; adding time to the school day, week or year for academics, enrichment and engagement; and/or comprehensively redesigning and expanding the school day, week or year to provide more academics, enrichment, and teacher and staff professional development.
Amendment language from the 2011 version has been included in Harkin’s new bill in order to prevent a federal preference or priority on which approach (afterschool, summer learning, expanded learning for some students, expanded learning for all students). The bill also includes a stronger requirement for partnerships between school districts and community-based organizations and public entities, with only a narrow exception for rural communities for whom the requirement would be a significant hardship. By requiring partnerships the bill goes further than current law, which only prioritizes such partnerships. The local education agencies or nonprofit and public partners can be the lead fiscal agent on 21st CCLC grants. The bill also requires collection, reporting and sharing of data and outcomes between school and community partners to inform implementation and focus programming, an area that needed improvement from current law.
While the 21st CCLC section of the legislation represents an improvement over many of the prior proposals to replace funding for afterschool programs with funding for a longer school day, concerns remain over the language within the bill that allows 21st CCLC funds to be used for expensive, whole-scale school redesign—an initiative that is also funded elsewhere in the bill through School Improvement Grants. Specifically, there is the real possibility under this legislation that 21st CCLC funds would be diverted to school reform and lengthening school days by an hour per day at the expense of providing quality afterschool programs for children an average of 14 hours per week. With 15 million children already unsupervised during the hours of 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., policies that could add to the number of unsupervised children should be avoided.
Elsewhere in the legislation, the STEM Master Teacher Corps program includes the option of afterschool STEM education (Sec. 4225); the financial literacy section allows afterschool financial literacy education (Sec. 4312); and the Successful, Safe and Healthy Students section calls for collaboration with before- and afterschool programming to keep young people safe and provide physical activity and mental health services (Sec. 4404). With regard to youth development, the reauthorization bill addresses conditions for learning, with support for bullying prevention, positive discipline, character development, social and emotional learning, family engagement, youth violence prevention, mental health, and physical activity. A new "whole school" model that embraces the community school philosophy is added to the school turnaround interventions. More information on the bill is available here.
While the bill will likely pass committee next week—its prospects for passing on the Senate floor are dim without bipartisan support. A recent tracking survey found that 87 percent of education policy insiders believe ESEA reauthorization will occur after January 2015. The Harkin bill is partisan and differs considerably from the approach of Sen. Alexander’s bill, which scales back federal involvement in education. The Every Child Ready for College or Career Act would consolidate and effectively eliminate the 21st CCLC initiative along with more than 60 other ESEA programs as part of a flexible block grant that allows school districts to determine whether to fund afterschool programs or a variety of other programs from parent engagement to physical education and school counseling after conducting a needs assessment.
The House Education and the Workforce Committee also plans to mark up separate Republican and Democratic versions of a ESEA reauthorization bill on June 19. A blog looking at the House ESEA process will follow shortly.
Friends of afterschool can email representatives and senators to emphasize the value and importance of afterschool and summer learning programs through June as the education committees discuss ESEA.
While Congress is currently engaged in debate over immigration policy and the 2013 farm bill, two other policy issues are waiting patiently in the wings for their chance in the spotlight. There is a possibility that the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the House Education and the Workforce Committee will mark up their own versions of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization bills in June. At the same time, progress is slowly being made by the Appropriations Committee staff in both the House and the Senate on FY2014 spending bills. Now is a great time to weigh in on both of these issues:
Funding for 21st CCLC and the Child Care Development Fund remain critical. Contact your senators and representative to express how sequestration and the economy have impacted access to afterschool programs in your community. Call on them to support funding for afterschool and summer learning programs in the FY2014 appropriations process.
Congress continues work this week on a spending bill for Fiscal Year (FY)2013 to replace the Continuing Resolution (CR) that expires March 27. Last week the House passed its version of the FY2013 spending bill, and the Senate took up their version of a final FY2013 spending bill this week. Both the House and the Senate bills leave the 5 percent across-the-board sequester cut in place. The House CR also includes its own 0.098 percent across-the-board cut on top of the sequester cut. A FY2013 spending bill must be agreed upon by the House and Senate and signed into law by the president before March 27 to prevent a government shut-down.
The Senate has developed a hybrid spending bill to fund the government through Sept. 30, the end of FY2013. This version includes full appropriations bills for more agencies than the House version. The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013—developed in a bipartisan manner by Appropriations Committee Chair Sen. Mikulski (D-MD) and Ranking Member Sen. Shelby (R-AL) includes separate divisions for appropriations to Agriculture; Commerce, Justice and Science; Defense; Homeland Security; and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. The Mikulski-Shelby bill provides about $1 trillion in budget authority, consistent with the Budget Control Act of 2011.
Labor, Health and Human Services as well as Education programs were not included in the Mikulski-Shelby bill and therefore would be funded under a regular CR, which would extend programs’ funding at FY2012 levels through the end of the current fiscal year. The spending bill does include a $50 million increase for the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), significant because not many programs were slated for modest increases. The 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative is funded at $1.15 billion in FY2012 and (like most non-defense discretionary funding) will be subject to the 5 percent sequester cut plus the 0.098 percent cut from the House bill if that remains in the final version of the bill.
The Mikulski-Shelby bill is expected to be voted upon by the full Senate by the end of the week. The House and Senate then must reconcile their differing FY2013 spending bills and pass a final bill before March 27 when the current CR expires. Once the final FY2013 bill passes, check back for final spending levels for key afterschool and summer learning related funding streams.
Sen. Barbara Boxer at the "Breakfast of Champions"
Following rousing speeches by Sens. Boxer (D-CA) and Murkowski (R-AK) last week during the "Breakfast of Champions," the bipartisan Afterschool for America’s Children Act, S. 326, wasintroduced in the Senate today. Sens. Boxer (D-CA), Murkowski (R-AK) and Murray (D-WA) introduced the Afterschool for America’s Children Act that reauthorizes the 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative and builds on past afterschool and summer learning program success. The bill number, 326, symbolizes the hours of 3 to 6 p.m. when young people should have quality learning and enrichment opportunities.
The bill:
Strengthens school-community partnerships to include sharing of data and resources, the ability to better leverage relationships within the community and provide an intentional alignment with the school day.
Promotes professional development and training of afterschool program staff.
Encourages innovative new ways to engage students in learning that looks different from a traditional school day, with an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning; science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); and physical activity and nutrition education. Supports approaches that focus on individualized learning that provide a variety of ways for students to master core skills and knowledge.
Provides accountability measures that are connected to college- and career-readiness goals and show student progress over time toward meeting indicators of student success including school attendance, grades and on-time grade level advancement.
Ensures that funding supports programs that utilize evidence-based, successful practices.
Increases quality and accountability through parent engagement, better alignment with state learning objectives, and coordination between federal, state and local agencies.
Does not prioritize any one model of expanded learning opportunities over another.
Maintains formula grants to states that then distribute funds to local school-community partnerships through a competitive grant process.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski at the "Breakfast of Champions"
Joining Sens.Boxer, Murkowski and Murray as co-sponors of the bill were Sens. Begich (D-AK) and Manchin (D-WV).
Plenty of national groups have already registered their support for the bill, including: Afterschool Alliance; After-School All-Stars; American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance; American Camp Association; American Heart Association; A World Fit For Kids; Champions; Harlem RBI; National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity; National Association of Elementary School Principals; National Collaboration for Youth; Save the Children; and the United States Tennis Association.
In addition to these organizations it’s important that Congress see a strong showing of support from afterschool advocates across the country. Your senators want to hear from you!Take action now by urging your senators to sign on as co-sponsors to support the next generation of afterschool, before-school and summer learning programs that are re-engaging children in their education and future. Share personal examples or experiences that illustrate the importance of these out-of-school programs for enhancing learning, keeping kids safe and helping working families.
On Feb. 7, 2013, hundreds of you across the country stepped up to the challenge and reached out to your elected officials to let them know that you support afterschool for all:
Arkansas: The Arkansas Out of School Network worked with allied organization Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families to take the Afterschool for All Challenge to the state capitol in Little Rock on February 7. Child advocates from across the state met at the Arkansas State Capitol to participate in the legislative process, meet with local legislators, attend legislative committee meetings, and observe lawmakers voting on bills that affect the lives of children and their families.
In conjunction with Kids Count Day, Arkansas Senate Bill 249 was introduced to provide $5 million to fund the pilot phase of the Positive Youth Development Act.
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe stopped by Kids Count Day to lead pre-k children in singing Itsy Bitsy Spider. Watch:
Pittsburgh: Director Mila Yochum of Allegheny Partners for Out of School Time (APOST) had several local advocates join her at a series of meetings at the local offices of Rep. Mike Doyle and Sens. Pat Toomey and Pat Casey.
More than 200 state afterschool leaders and experts backed up your outreach with face-to-face meetings on Capitol Hill with senators and representatives to echo your message that afterschool works to keep kids safe, inspire learning and help working families.
In Massachusetts, the legislature voted to increase the After School and Out of School Time (ASOST) Quality Grant by 15 percent, ensuring the first new dollars for the grant since 2009. Massachusetts also saw the continued investment of $3 million to the Gateway Cities-Afterschool and Summer Enrichment & Acceleration Academies for English Language Learners and increases for the arts, summer learning and violence prevention programs. Check out the 
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