President Releases FY2013 Budget Proposal, Maintains Funding for 21st CCLC

This morning the president released his budget request for the upcoming 2013 fiscal year, which begins this October.  With regard to support for the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers (21^st CCLC) initiative, the only federal program that exclusively funds afterschool, before-school and summer learning programs, the president requested $1.153 billion—the same level of funds appropriated for the current fiscal year.  As was the case in his budget request last year, Obama proposes to allow 21st CCLC grants for additional purposes including adding time to the traditional school day or year, summer school, and for teacher planning and professional development.

In a challenging budget environment, in which many programs face consolidation or elimination, maintaining the current federal investment in 21^st CCLC in the budget request demonstrates the importance and value of out-of-school-time programs.  The Afterschool Alliance supports 21^st CCLC funds being directed to afterschool, before school and summer programs that focus on hands-on, engaged learning that complements and enhances but does not replicate the traditional school day.  Funding should continue to support the partnerships between schools and community- and faith-based organizations that help children improve academically, socially and behaviorally while parents are at work.  For more information on expanded learning, see our Expanded Learning resource page. Additional Education Department funding that supports afterschool includes $14.5 billion (level with FY2012) for Title I and $100 million ($40 million increase over FY2012 level) for Promise Neighborhoods.

Among the additional federal funding streams that support afterschool and summer learning programs, the president’s budget supports critical reforms to the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and provides an additional $300 million for states to improve child care quality. About $500 million in mandatory funding was also requested for CCDBG.  About a third of CCDBG funding supports students in school-age care.  The budget also provides $1.1 billion, 1 percent above the 2012 funding level, to support the Corporation for National and Community Service’s efforts to address national and local challenges through service.  The Corporation’s AmeriCorps and VISTA programs help support afterschool programs.

The budget proposal also includes $140 million for critical juvenile justice programs, including: $70 million for the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) Title II State Formula Grants Program (increase of $30 million over FY12 final); $40 million for JJDPA Title V Delinquency Prevention Program (an increase of $20 million over FY12 final) with no earmarks or set asides taken out; and $30 million for the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) Program.

The FY2013 budget request includes $3 billion for STEM education programs across the various federal agencies.  Much of this funding is targeted for programs targeting K-12 teacher effectiveness and post-secondary STEM education.  The proposed budget would significantly cut down NASA’s Office of Education budget to $100 million.  Additionally, the Administration’s budget proposes to change the name of the National Science Foundation’s Informal Science Education (ISE) program to “Advancing Informal STEM Learning.”  The ISE program, which has been used to fund afterschool programs, was cut by 22 percent to $48 million in the budget proposal.  There is an emphasis on coordination and collaboration on STEM education programs across all federal agencies. 

The president’s budget request now goes to Congress, where budget and appropriations deliberations for FY2013 are expected to get underway almost immediately.  Additional details on the president’s budget request and the process in Congress will follow.  Friends of afterschool programs can contact their Members of Congress to express support for 21^st CCLC and federal funding for afterschool programs.