FY2020 appropriations update: Afterschool funding increased!

House and Senate appropriators reached an agreement on final subcommittee allocations to avert a shutdown and fund the government past the December 20 deadline.  The final  bi-partisan bill language specifying funding levels for all government programs provides $1.25 billion for local afterschool and summer learning programs, which will provide quality programming for an additional 28,000 students. This brings afterschool funding to an all-time high and is a testament to the strong 21^st Century Community Learning Center programs across our nation.

Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) is the current chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee and Co-Chair of the bipartisan House Afterschool Caucus. A longtime and ardent champion of afterschool programs, the Congresswoman announced her retirement from Congress earlier this year.  In her honor, the bill adds her name to the 21^st Community Learning Center Program.

The $1.3 trillion deal encompasses all 12 appropriations bills, and is expected to be passed as a two-bill minibus package. The first bill is scheduled for a Tuesday, December 17 House floor vote funding Defense, Homeland Security, Commerce-Justice-Science and Financial Services measures, while the remaining eight spending bills will comprise the second “minibus,” and include: Agriculture-FDA, Labor-HHS-Education, Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, State-Foreign Operations, Transportation-HUD, Military Construction-VA and Legislative Branch. The deal was announced after a meeting with top appropriators, including House and Senate Appropriations Chairs Nita Lowey(and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and Ranking Members Kay Granger (R-Texas) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). The President will ultimately have to sign the spending bills into law to avert a federal government shut down when the current continuing resolution expires on December 20.

Specific funding levels for other education and programs are listed below:

• 21st Century Community Learning Centers: 21st Century Community Learning Centers is  allocated $1.25 billion, a 2.3 percent increase ($28 million) above the 2019 enacted level. The President’s budget proposed to eliminate this program.  The bi-partisan bill also honors Rep. Lowey by adding her  name to the program
• Title I Grants to Local Education Agencies: $16.310 billion, an increase of $450 million above the 2019 enacted level. 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 $2.132 billion, an increase of $76 million over the 2019 enacted level. This is the first time since FY2014 this funding stream has been increased. The president’s budget proposed to eliminate this program.
• Title IV Full Service Community Schools: $25 million, an increase of $8 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: $1.210 billion, an increase of $40 million above the 2019 enacted level. The president’s budget proposed 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: $53 million, an increase of $3 million above the 2019 enacted level.
• TRIO and GEAR UP: $1.090 billion for Federal TRIO programs, an increase of $30 million above the 2019 enacted level. Additionally, $365 million for GEAR UP, an increase of $5 million above the 2019 enacted level.
• Federal Work Study: $1.180 billion, an increase of $50 million above the 2019 enacted level. Federal Work Study can be used to support college students working in community-based afterschool programs.
• Education, Innovation, and Research: $190 million, an increase of $60 million above the 2019 enacted level. $65 million of EIR funds are dedicated for STEM education, including a specific prioritization on computer science education. Also for the first time, $65 million in new funds within this program for grants for evidence-based, field-initiated innovations that address student social and emotional learning needs is included. 
• Career, Technical Education (CTE): $1.283 billion, an increase of $20 million 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): $5.826 billion, an increase of $550 million; 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.
• Mental health resources for children and youth including $102 million for Project AWARE, an increase of $31 million; and $69 million for the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative, an increase of $5 million.
• Community Services Block Grant: $740 million, an increase of $15 million. 
• Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS): $1.1 billion, an increase of $21 million above the 2019 enacted level. The president’s budget proposed 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.
• Youth Mentoring: $97 million for FY20 to support mentoring programs including those provided through afterschool programs.
• Career Pathways for Youth Grants: The bill provides $10,000,000 to utilize the demonstration grant authority under the dislocated worker national reserve for grants to support national out-of-school-time organizations that serve youth and teens and place an emphasis on age-appropriate workforce readiness programming to expand job training and workforce pathways for youth and disconnected youth, including soft skill development, career exploration, job readiness and certification, summer jobs, year-round job opportunities, and apprenticeships. Funding will also support partnerships between workforce investment boards and youth-serving organizations.

Also of note, the bill provides $123 million for a Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Initiative to support SEL and “whole child” approaches to education. Within this amount, the bill provides:

• $65 million in new funds within the Education Innovation and Research program for grants for evidence-based, field-initiated innovations that address student social, emotional, and cognitive needs (as noted above);
• $23 million for a new competition within the Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) grant program with a priority for teacher professional development and pathways into teaching that provide a strong foundation in child development and learning, including skills for implementing SEL strategies; 
• $10 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