House, Senate to vote on FY 2022 omnibus spending bill, afterschool funding increased

Almost five and a half months after the 2022 fiscal year began, Congress appears ready to pass an FY 2022 spending bill. Lengthy negotiations between the administration, both parties, and both chambers has resulted in a 2,741-page, $1.5 trillion FY 2022 omnibus bill that would fund the federal government through September 30, 2022. The omnibus spending bill appropriates a $30 million increase for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative, resulting in a total of $1.289 billion for local afterschool and summer learning programs—an all-time high level of funding. However, the bill appropriates less than the original House-passed bill proposed for 21st CCLC and a wide range of education programs. Further, the increase will not be sufficient to meet the increased demand for quality afterschool and summer learning programs, nor the increased costs associated with offering high quality afterschool and summer opportunities.

The FY 2022 omnibus spending bill includes a 6.7 percent increase for non-defense discretionary programs, the largest increase in four years. It includes $17.5 billion for Title I formula funding to schools, which can also be used to support afterschool and summer learning programs. The bill supports early education and child care by including more than $6 billion for the Child Care Development Block Grant – funds that can be used to support school-age students up to age 13. The bill includes $13.6 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and $15.6 billion in emergency assistance to continue to combat the COVID pandemic.

Despite widespread calls for extending the child nutrition program waivers, the bill does not include an extension of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s authority to offer waivers that help ensure greater access to summer meals and afterschool snacks/meals. While this is a setback, advocacy efforts continue around the need for waiver authority to be extended. Specific proposed funding levels for education programs that support afterschool and summer include:

• The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers: $1.289 billion, $30 million above the 2021 enacted level. The 21st CCLC program annually serves 1.56 million children and youth at more than 10,469 sites across the U.S.
• Title I Funding to Local Education Agencies: $17.5 billion, an increase of $1 billion above the 2021 enacted level and the largest increase in over a decade. 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 $2.2 billion, an increase of $27 million over the 2021 enacted level.
• Title IV Full Service Community Schools: $75 million, an increase of $45 million, to provide comprehensive services and expand evidence-based models that meet the holistic needs of children, families, and communities, including out-of-school time programs.
• Title IV Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants: $1.28 billion, an increase of $60 million above the 2021 enacted level. 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: $65 million, an increase of $10 million above the 2021 enacted level.
• TRIO and GEAR UP: $1.14 billion for Federal TRIO programs, an increase of $40 million above the 2021 enacted level. Additionally, $378 million for GEAR UP, an increase of $10 million above the 2021 enacted level. Both programs help high school youth prepare and access higher education.
• Federal Work Study: $1.21 billion, an increase of $20 million above the 2021 enacted level. Federal Work Study can be used to support college students working in community-based afterschool programs.
• Career, Technical Education (CTE): $2.1 billion, an increase of $61 million for the Perkins V CTE program. CTE programs can partner with community-based afterschool providers to provide workforce development and career exploration programs.
• Continued support for a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Initiative to support SEL and “whole child” approaches to education. Within this amount, the bill provides:          
  • $85 million, an increase of $5 million over the FY21 enacted level, for the Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) program with a priority for teacher professional development and pathways into teaching that provide a strong foundation in implementing SEL and “whole child” strategies;
  • $111 million within School Safety National Activities for Mental Health Services Professional Demonstration Grants and School-Based Mental Health Services Grants, an increase of $95 million over the FY 2021 enacted level, to help LEAs directly increase the number of mental health and child development experts in schools; and
  • $82 million, an increase of $15 million over the FY 2021 enacted level, for grants for evidence-based, field-initiated innovations that address student social, emotional, and cognitive needs within the Education Innovation and Research program.

Proposed funding levels for afterschool and summer related programs in the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies:

• Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG): $6.2 billion, an increase of $254 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 $120 million for Project AWARE, an increase of $13 million.
• Community Services Block Grant: $755 million, an increase of $10 million. 
• Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS): $1.2 billion, an increase of $30 million above the 2021 enacted level. CNCS supports AmeriCorps and VISTA that are a key asset for hundreds of afterschool programs. Of the CNCS budget, $467 million for AmeriCorps State and National Grants is included, an increase of $12 million over the FY 2021 enacted level.
• Youth Mentoring: $102 million for FY 2022 to support mentoring programs including those provided through afterschool programs, and increase of $2 million over FY 2021.
• Health Centers: $1.7 billion, an increase of $65 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, for
  the Health Centers program, including $30 million, an increase of $25 million, to support school-based health centers.
• Career Pathways for Youth Grants: $15 million 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. The current RFP for this funding is currently open.
• In addition, at least $12.8 million in Community Project Funding was allocated to individual afterschool programs by specific members of Congress.

The House plans to vote on the bill as soon as today although challenges still remain. In addition, the House and Senate will vote on a short-term continuing resolution giving the Senate until March 15 for the bill to pass and be signed into law by the President. The current continuing resolution is set to expire March 11.