Congress works to pass FY 2023 omnibus spending bill, increase afterschool and summer funding

Updated 1/3/2023: On Friday, Dec. 23 the House passed an omnibus appropriations bill by a 221-205-1 vote, following Senate passage by a 68-29 vote on Thursday, Dec. 22. The president signed the bill into law. The bill represents an increase from the $1.5 trillion appropriations package for FY 22 including increased afterschool and summer learning funding.

More than two months after the 2023 fiscal year began, Congress is working rapidly to pass an FY 2023 omnibus spending bill before Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, when a second short-term FY 2023 continuing resolution expires. Lengthy negotiations between the administration, both parties, and both chambers have resulted in a $1.7 trillion FY 2023 omnibus bill that would fund the federal government through September 30, 2023. The omnibus spending bill appropriates a $40 million increase for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative, resulting in a total of $1.329 billion for local afterschool and summer learning programs—an all-time high level of funding. These funds are in addition to a $50 million one-time increase for 21^st CCLC that was included in the Bipartisan Safe Communities Act that passed in June. While the additional funding is appreciated by the out-of- school-time field and will help address some of the increased costs associated with offering high quality afterschool and summer opportunities, it is not sufficient to meet the increased demand for quality afterschool and summer learning program.

The FY 2023 omnibus spending bill includes $772.5 billion for non-defense discretionary programs including those in the Education, Labor and Health and Human Services Departments. It includes $18.387 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 $8 billion for the Child Care Development Block Grant – funds that can be used to support school-age students up to age 13.

Additionally, the omnibus spending legislation includes several policy changes added by the Senate Agriculture Committee that will impact the Summer Nutrition Programs. The bill does not include a comprehensive reauthorization of the federal child nutrition programs, but does include the following:

• Makes permanent the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) programs that had previously been piloted. This will go into effect in summer 2024 and allows qualifying low-income families with children to receive funds to pay for meals for children. Summer EBT is a complement to the Summer Nutrition Programs (which support summer meal programs in low-income communities that are frequently combined with educational, enrichment, and recreational activities) and can help reduce food insecurity for low-income families, particularly in rural or other areas with limited access to summer meals.
• Allows communities in rural areas that do not have existing summer learning programs that offer meals through the Summer Nutrition Programs to implement non-congregate feeding programs that provide meals directly to children’s homes. USDA would develop rules and regulations for this new provision.

Specific proposed funding levels for education programs that support afterschool and summer learning and enrichment include:

• The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers: $1.329 billion, $40 million above the 2022 enacted level. The 21st CCLC program annually serves students in every state at more than 10,652 sites across the U.S.
• Title I Funding to Local Education Agencies: $18.387 billion, an increase of $850 million (or 5 percent) above the 2022 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 IV Full Service Community Schools: $150 million, an increase of $75 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.
• Promise Neighborhoods: $91 million, an increase of $6 million for grants to increase access to great schools and strong systems of family and community support that will prepare students to attain an excellent education and successfully transition to college and a career. Afterschool and summer can be one component of these efforts.
• Title IV Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants: $1.38 billion, an increase of $100 million above the 2022 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: $75 million, an increase of $10 million above the 2022 enacted level.
• TRIO and GEAR UP: $1.2 billion for Federal TRIO programs, an increase of $54 million above the 2022 enacted level. Additionally, $388 million for GEAR UP, an increase of $10 million above the 2022 enacted level. Both programs help high school youth prepare and access higher education.
• Federal Work Study: $1.23 billion, an increase of $20 million above the 2022 enacted level. Federal Work Study can be used to support college students working in community-based afterschool programs.
• Career, Technical Education (CTE): $2.2 billion, an increase of $100 million for the Perkins V CTE program. CTE programs can partner with community-based afterschool providers to provide workforce development and career exploration programs.
• Statewide Family Engagement Centers: $20 million, an increase of $5 million for these grants which provide financial support to organizations that provide technical assistance and training to state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) in the implementation and enhancement of systemic and effective family engagement policies, programs, and activities. This programming is intended to lead to improvements in student development and academic achievement.
• Education Innovation and Research (EIR): $284 million, an increase of $50 over FY 2022. Within the total for EIR, the bill specifies that $87 million will go to provide
  grants for social and emotional learning (SEL) and $87 million will fund grants for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and computer science education
  activities. Within the STEM and computer science set-aside, awards should expand
  opportunities for underrepresented students such as minorities, girls, and youth
  from families living at or below the poverty line to help reduce the enrollment and
  achievement gap.
• Continued support for a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Initiative to support SEL and “whole child” approaches to education. In addition to community schools and EIR funds that contribute to whole child approaches, the bill provides $90 million, an increase of $5 million over the FY 2022 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.

Proposed funding levels for afterschool and summer related programs in the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, Corporation for National and Community Service, Department of Justice and other agencies:

• Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG): $8 billion, an increase of $1.9 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.
• Mental health resources for children and youth including $140 million for Project AWARE, an increase of $20 million. These funds support school-and-campus-based mental health services and support, including increasing student access to evidence-based, culturally relevant, trauma support services and mental health care through established partnerships with community organizations.
• Community Services Block Grant: $770 million, an increase of $15 million. Funds support services and activities for individuals and families with low incomes that alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty in communities and can include support for afterschool and summer learning programs.
• Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS): $1.3 billion, an increase of $162 million above the 2022 enacted level. CNCS supports AmeriCorps and VISTA that are a key asset for hundreds of afterschool programs. Of the CNCS budget, $557 million for AmeriCorps State and National Grants is included, an increase of $90 million over the FY 2022 enacted level.
• Youth Mentoring: $107 million for FY 2023 to support mentoring programs including those provided through afterschool programs, and increase of $5 million over FY 2022.
• Juvenile Justice and Prevention: $65 million for Title V grants to be used for the following: $5,000,000 for grants to prevent trafficking of girls; $17,000,000 for the Tribal Youth Program; $500,000 for an Internet site providing information and resources on children of incarcerated parents; $5,500,000 for competitive grants focusing on girls in the juvenile justice system; $12,500,000 for an initiative relating to youth affected by opioids, stimulants, and substance use disorder; $10,000,000 for an initiative relating to children exposed to violence; and $2,000,000 for grants to protect vulnerable and at-risk youth.
• STEM: $1.154 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF) for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education programs which may include support for informal STEM education. The bill includes $70 million for NSF’s Advancing Informal STEM Learning program. In addition, NSF is directed to provide grants to support the development of hands-on learning opportunities in STEM education, including via afterschool activities and innovative learning opportunities, such as robotics competitions.
• Career Pathways for Youth Grants: $20 million 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.

In addition, at least $200.4 million in Community Project Funding was included specifically for education-related programs. We are analyzing how much of this funding went to support afterschool and summer youth serving programs.

The Senate plans to vote on the bill this week, likely this Thursday, December 22, although challenges still remain. The House would then need to take up the measure immediately as the current continuing resolution is set to expire at midnight on December 23, 2022.