House appropriators propose substantial increase to 21st CCLC afterschool funding

Update: On May 8, the full House Appropriations Committee voted to approve the FY2020 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) and Related Agencies Appropriations Act by a party line vote of 30 to 23, sending the bill on to the House floor. The approved bill included several changes from the one that passed the subcommittee last week. While the $100 million increase in funding for 21st CCLC afterschool and summer learning remained intact, the following adjustments were made adding an additional $103 million:

• $10 million for CTE state grants;
• $10 million for museums andlibraries;
• $7 million for adult education state grants;
• $5 million to continue the open textbook pilot;
• $5 million for magnet schools;
• $5 million for IDEA preschool grants.

The bill report language also includes $260 million investment in social and emotional learning. The proposed investment is spread across a number of programs, including $170 million set aside within the EIR grant program; $25 million set aside as part of the Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) program; and $25 million within the School Safety National Activities program, $40 million increase to Full-Service Community Schools. The conference report includes specific mentions of afterschool STEM in the $125 million proposal for the EIR grant program. With regard to next steps – the House bill is not likely to be considered as a stand-alone measure but likely will once again be paired with the Defense Appropriations bill, similar to last year. The Senate is expected to act on its FY20 plan in June, and is unlikely to include the same higher overall funding level as the House package.

The House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) Appropriations and Related Agencies Subcommittee marked up their FY2020 spending measure on Tuesday, April 30, showing strong support for education programs including a record funding level for federal afterschool support. The FY2020 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) and Related Agencies Appropriations Act increases spending by 6 percent (about $11 billion) and sets funding levels for all federal education, human services, and health and labor programs. Among those programs is the 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative, which provides federal funds leveraged by local school-community partnerships to provide quality afterschool and summer learning programs to 1.7 million children.

The Subcommittee voted to approve the House LHHS FY2020 spending bill by a party line vote after supportive statements from Chairwoman DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Ranking Member Cole (R-Okla.), although the Ranking Member did fall short of supporting the passage of the bill due to the high spending level and a number of provisions related to administration oversight. The Committee received 15,000 spending requests and were able to accommodate 90 percent of them. This marks the first time the subcommittee has taken up a spending bill since the Democrats assumed control of the House in January. In a press statement coinciding with the bill’s release, House LHHS Subcommittee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, a long standing champion for afterschool programs, said, “This year’s Labor-HHS-Education funding bill—the People’s bill—makes historic investments in programs that provide opportunities for millions of people.” The full House Appropriations Committee is expected to mark-up the bill on May 8 before sending it to the House floor.

The bill provides the largest increase to 21st CCLC in more than 10 years, proposing to expand the program from the current $1.222 billion funding level for afterschool and summer learning programs up to $1.322 billion. The Subcommittee rejected the Trump administration’s FY2020 budget proposal that would have eliminated all federal support for 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Parents, program providers, students, and advocates all reached out this year to members of Congress in support of afterschool programs by sending more than 16,600 emails and calls to Congress so far this year. Additionally, local, state, and national organizations signed a letter in support of 21st Century Community Learning Centers and more than 100 representatives called for increased 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding. This impressive outreach is a sign that the field of afterschool supporters is broad, dedicated, and passionate about the cause of afterschool — we must keep up the good work!

In total, the bill includes $189.8 billion in discretionary funding, an increase of $11.7 billion over the 2019 enacted level and $47.8 billion over the president’s 2020 budget request. Appropriators largely ignored the White House’s proposal for cuts to funding including a number of significant program eliminations at the Department of Education (ED). The Labor-HHS-Education bill is the largest non-defense appropriations bill and is the first of 12 annual appropriations bills to be considered by the Appropriations Committee for FY2020. The full text of the bill can be accessed here. Also review Chairwoman DeLauro’s statement here.

Spending breakdown in detail

The bill would fund the Department of Education at nearly $76 billion, or about $4.4 billion above the FY2019 enacted level. In addition to the $100 million increase to 21^st CCLC, a number of other federal programs that support afterschool and summer learning were included in the bill, following the trend of continued bipartisan support for programs that inspire young people, keep children safe, and give parents peace of mind:

• Title I Grants to Local Education Agencies: $16.9 billion, an increase of $1 billion above the 2019 enacted level and the president’s budget request. Title I provides basic and flexible funding to low-income school districts to improve student outcomes. Schools are able to spend Title I funds on afterschool and summer learning programs.
• Title II-A Funds for Teacher Professional Development $2.6 billion, an increase of $500 million over the 2019 enacted level. The president’s budget proposes to eliminate this program.
• Title IV Full Service Community Schools: $40 million, an increase from $17.5 million, to provide comprehensive services and expand evidence-based models that meet the holistic needs of children, families, and communities.
• Title IV Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants: $1.3 billion, an increase of $150 million above the 2019 enacted level. The president’s budget proposes to eliminate this program. These funds for school districts established under ESSA support activities that provide students with a well-rounded education, ensure safe and supportive learning environments, and use technology to improve instruction. Allowable uses for the grant include support for afterschool STEM activities. 
• Child Care Access Means Parents in School: $60 million, an increase of $10 million above the 2019 enacted level and $45 million above the president’s budget request.
• TRIO and GEAR UP: $1.1 billion for Federal TRIO programs, an increase of $100 million above the 2019 enacted level and $210 million above the president’s budget request. Additionally, $395 million for GEAR UP, an increase of $35 million above the 2019 enacted level. The president’s budget proposes to consolidate the program into the TRIO programs.
• Federal Work Study: $1.4 billion, an increase of $304 million above the 2019 enacted level and $934 million above the president’s budget request. Federal Work Study can be used to support college students working in community based afterschool programs.
• Education, Innovation, and Research: $300 million, an increase of $170 million above the 2019 enacted level. $125 million of this would be dedicated to grants for evidence-based field initiatives in STEM and computer science. $170 million would be for a social-emotional learning (SEL) initiative described further below. 
• Career, Technical Education (CTE): $1.3 billion, an increase of 3 percent for implementation of the Perkins V CTE legislation that passed last year. 

And in the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies:

• Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG): $7.7 billion, an increase of $2.4 billion; in addition to supporting child care for children ages birth through five, the CCDBG funds afterschool programs for just under one million school age children.
• Community Services Block Grant: $760 million, an increase of $35 million, which can be used by local jurisdictions to support a number of programs including afterschool and youth development efforts.
• Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program: $110 million, an increase of $9 million above the fiscal year 2019 enacted level. This evidence-based program supports in part afterschool pregnancy prevention programs.
• Mental health resources for children and youth including $84 million for Project AWARE, an increase of $13 million; and $71 million for the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative, an increase of $7 million.
• Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS): $1.14 billion, an increase of $55 million above the 2019 enacted level. The president’s budget proposes to eliminate CNCS and includes $94 million for this purpose. CNCS supports AmeriCorps and VISTA that are a key asset for hundreds of afterschool programs.

Also of note, the bill provides $260 million for a Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Initiative to support SEL and “whole child” approaches to education. Within this amount, the bill provides:

• $170 million within the Education Innovation and Research program for grants for evidence-based, field-initiated innovations that address student social, emotional, and cognitive needs;
• $25 million within the Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) grant program for teacher professional development and pathways into teaching that provide a strong foundation in child development and learning, including skills for implementing SEL strategies;
• $25 million within the School Safety National Activities program to make schools safer through a new competition that will help local educational agencies (LEAs) directly increase the number of mental health and child development experts in schools. The $40 million for Community Schools is also included in the SEL initiative.

What's next?

The appropriations process is only just getting underway. The next stop for the House LHHS FY2020 spending bill is full Committee mark-up scheduled for May 8, followed by a vote on the House floor, likely attached to one or more additional FY2020 appropriations bills in a ‘mini-bus’ package, although the timing for that remains unclear.

The Senate is expected to begin marking up their FY2020 spending bills in the coming months. The 2019 fiscal year expires on September 30, and Congress is supposed to have all its appropriations bills passed and sent to the president’s desk by that date; however, in most recent years Congress has not been able to make this deadline and instead has passed one or more continuing resolutions temporarily funding the government until final spending bills can be completed. It is possible a continuing resolution will be needed this year with final spending decisions made this fall or early winter.

Take action: Send a message to your members of Congress

This year tens of thousands of parents and advocates have reached out to Congress sharing the importance of federal afterschool funding. As the appropriations process continues, it is imperative that senators and representatives hear from those in their states and districts about the value of federal afterschool funding in supporting local programs. Reach out to your members of Congress today in support of funding for afterschool and summer learning programs.