Afterschool STEM Policy Landscape: Appropriations

The current fiscal year ends on September 30 and Congress needs to negotiate and appropriate federal funding levels by that deadline to avoid a shutdown. This is important for afterschool STEM because funding for programs, research, support, and partnerships come through a variety of agencies and offices within the federal government.

Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have now passed their respective Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) FY 2026 appropriations bills. The House’s funding proposal recommends eliminating the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Directorate for STEM Education, which houses the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program and other important STEM education initiatives. The House also proposes the elimination of NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement. But the good news is that the Senate’s CJS bill maintains funding for both. The Senate’s report language, which accompanies the bill,  also emphasizes strong support for afterschool programs and their educators, encouraging the NSF to facilitate impactful relationships between STEM education researchers and afterschool programs. And, the House’s CJS funding bill also includes $1.05 billion in Community Project Funding for 1,011 Member requested projects, some of which are afterschool STEM programs. You can explore a funding table comparing the two bills’ proposed funding levels with FY 2025 levels and the White House’s proposed FY 2026 levels.

Afterschool STEM advocates should continue reaching out to Members of Congress, especially in the House, these next few weeks to ensure that funding for these vital programs is preserved.

The FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations bills are also making progress. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the bill at the end of July. Just last week, the House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee advanced its FY 2026 spending bill; full Committee action followed on Tuesday of this week. Just as with the CJS bill, the Senate generally maintains support for programs we care about while the House makes some deep cuts. There are many programs funded by the LHHS appropriations bill that support afterschool STEM and some key highlights of the House and Senate bills to pay attention to include:

• 21st Century Community Learning Centers program (Title IV-B) - the only dedicated federal funding stream for afterschool programs is level-funded at the FY 2025 enacted amount ($1.329 billion) in both the House and Senate bills. This goes to show the continued bipartisan support for afterschool programs and we thank all afterschool advocates for their fierce and sustained advocacy on this topic.
   
• Student Support and Academic Enrichment program (Title IV-A) - these grants can be used for afterschool STEM, education technology, amongst other things, and are funded at the same level as last year ($1.38 billion) in the Senate’s bill and increased by $5 million in the House’s bill.
   
• Supporting Effective Instruction program (Title II-A) - provides professional development opportunities for educators, and is proposed to be eliminated in the House bill; the Senate bill level funds the program at the FY 2025 amount ($2.2 billion).
   
• Federal Work Study program - can help support college students working in afterschool and other community-based organizations while attending college, and is funded at the same level as FY 2025 ($1.23 billion) in the Senate’s bill and cut by 37% in the House bill.
   
• Career Pathways for Youth program at the Department of Labor - supports national out-of-school time organizations that engage youth in workforce readiness programming, including in STEM fields, and is maintained in the Senate bill at FY 2025 levels ($20 million) and cut in half in the House bill ($10 million).
   
• Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) - both the Senate and House proposals decrease funding by $3 million, though the House proposal slightly increases funding for libraries.
   
• Corporation for National and Community Service - supports AmeriCorps programs, which provide academic support and lead STEM activities in afterschool and summer learning programs. The Senate’s bill sustains funding at $635 million for AmeriCorps State and National grants, while the House proposes to cut funding (to $524.7 million).

It is important to note that even though the Senate’s proposal freezes funding for many of these programs, that is a cut when inflation and increased program costs are taken into account. This will translate into programs needing to make do (or do more) with less funding.

Congress will be working diligently over the coming month to negotiate appropriations bills before the start of FY 2026 on October 1.  It is critical for STEM education advocates to continue raising awareness with our Congressional representatives in both the House and the Senate to let them know our nation cannot afford to cut funding for STEM education or afterschool.

Contact Congress today to let them know that we cannot accept funding cuts to STEM education!

Unsure about how to engage in effective advocacy? Join us for a STEM Advocacy Experience in Washington, D.C., October 20-22! A collaboration between the Afterschool STEM Hub, the Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM, the STEM Education Coalition, the Alliance for Learning Innovation, and the STEMM Opportunity Alliance, this free STEM education advocacy training event will provide you with the tools and confidence to inform, engage, and influence policymakers. Register!