First glance: What a Biden-Harris administration may mean for afterschool

“Educators, this is a great day for y’all.” – President Elect Joe Biden, November 7, 2020

When President-elect Joe Biden spoke to the nation on Saturday November 7, he specifically pointed to his commitment to the field of education, giving credit to his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, and her role as an educator. As of this time, Biden has appointed his education transition team (see an article on the team here from Ed Source) that will begin setting the stage for the new administration and its policy priorities. The team comes in combination with a Biden platform which already includes a number of stated education priorities, including some that would directly affect and support access to and quality for afterschool programs if they come to fruition, including:

• Tripling support for Title I programs under ESEA: The Biden campaign notes a $23 billion funding gap between white and non-white districts as well as gaps between high-income and low-income communities across the United States. Title I programs are provided to schools based on their population of low-income students to help school improvement and student achievement. Afterschool programs are an allowable use and have an evidence base on moving the needle on indicators of student success. A number of districts and schools use some of these funds to support afterschool and summer programs, addressing needs such as transportation, staffing, and more. The platform mentions that Title I funds should allow communities to direct funding resources to meet the specific local needs of their area
• Increased support for Community Schools: This section begins, “When parents are working hard to make ends meet, it can be difficult, if not impossible, for them to navigate various family needs like after-school care.” It goes on to envision increased access to community schools serving as community hubs created with broad stakeholder input and wraparound services for 300,000 additional students.

President-elect Biden also has a “caregiving” platform focusing on the needs of parents trying to balance their jobs and their families, especially in light of the COVID crisis, but extending before the pandemic as well. This plan includes:

• Improved access to afterschool, weekend, and summer care for school-aged children: Importantly, this section mentions “expanding the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers that provide critical enrichment to school age children.” In addition, this section of the caregiving platform loops back to other listed priorities and initiatives and includes a combination of increased investments in the child care and development block grant (CCDBG), the  child care tax credit mentioned below for youth birth to age 13, and investments in community schools.
• Increased Child Care Tax Credits: The plan outlines a refundable credit of up to $8,000 for one child and $16,000 for multiple children which would pay for as much as half (depending on income levels) of a family’s child care expenditures for low-income and middle class families making $400,000 and under.
• Other areas: Early childhood, universal pre-kindergarten, military family care and family care for college students, child care staff compensation, benefits, professional development, and infrastructure.

Vice President Harris also comes to her historic position with a history of supporting certain education goals in her role as a U.S. Senator. Last year Harris introduced the Family Friendly Schools Act. The Act had a number of education-related components but most importantly proposed to “authorize an additional $1.3 billion for 21^st Century Community Learning Centers to allow up to 1.8 million more children to access summer programming.”

It is encouraging to see both Biden and Harris explicitly recognizing the importance of increased funding for 21^st Century Community Learning Centers. We as an afterschool community hope 21^st Century Community Learning Centers continues to be at the forefront of policy when ideas become actions in this administration.

For some general thoughts on where an education policy agenda might land given the election results, New America offered a good analysis based on the likely possibility that Congress continues to be split between a Democratically-controlled House and Republican Senate.

In our role as supporters of afterschool and positive youth development, we can remember that afterschool programs enjoy widespread bipartisan support that can cross party divides. Continuing to raise our voices as to what the field needs to serve youth as the administration and new Congress get their footing is crucial to realizing the changes we need to move the field forward, especially at this critical time. If we succeed, our children will have the support they need to have access to enriching, engaging, and empowering learning across times and settings, and our communities and country will be ready to prepare for the workforce of tomorrow while supporting working families today.