A series of webinars on policy developments.
Watch latestSign up for the seriesOn April 3, 2026, the Administration released its FY2027 “skinny” budget which would support education programs from summer 2027 through the end of the 2027-2028 school year. The proposal zeroes out funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC), the only federal funding stream dedicated to supporting local school and community-based afterschool and summer learning programs. This would mark the second straight year of proposed elimination for 21st CCLC which supports nearly 10,000 local programs serving almost 1.4 million children across the nation. Read the blog.
Congress will consider the proposal and then craft their own spending legislation for FY 2027. The House Appropriations Committee has scheduled consideration of its education spending bill for early June. While the new budget proposal would fund programs during the 2027-2028 school year, State education agencies received their preliminary FY2026 allocations for 21st CCLC on March 13, with final allocations expected in June. These funds will support local afterschool programs for the 2026-2027 school year, and they are possible after the House of Representatives voted in early February to pass the final FY2026 spending bill (H.R. 7148) approved by the Senate in late January.
Earlier this winter the General Services Administration proposed significant changes to the System for Award Management (SAM) - the online portal that nonprofits and other grantees use to manage grant programs with the federal government. The GSA, an independent agency that manages and supports the functions of federal agencies, proposed to add requirements to all federal financial assistance, including discretionary, mandatory, block, and formula grants, cooperative agreements, loans and more. If implemented the proposed changes would directly impact nonprofits, state and local governments, tribes, and other entities that apply for or receive federal funding, including afterschool and summer program providers that are supported by any number of federal programs including 21st Century Community Learning Centers, AmeriCorps, and the Child Care Development Block Grant. Comments on the proposed changes are being accepted by GSA through March 30, 2026. Submit your comments online.
For more details, read our recent blog post,"Proposed changes to federal grant system could impact funding for local programs."
Every second Friday at noon ET, our own Senior VP of Policy, Erik Peterson, will recap the latest policy developments, what we know (or don’t know!) about how they may impact afterschool and summer programs, and what may be coming up next. Register
Co-hosted by the Afterschool Alliance and the National Summer Learning Association, in partnership with Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, Every Hour Counts, YMCA of the USA, and Save the Children.
Across the nation, local afterschool and summer programs play a vital role in supporting our communities, the economy, and a strong workforce by keeping kids safe, inspiring learning, and helping working parents provide for their families. Federal 21st CCLC funding empowers local communities to meet student, parent, and community needs. 21st CCLC grants support 10,000 programs serving nearly 1.4 million youth. The 25-year history of these programs shows that they work. Youth who participate in programs do better in school, build critical work and life skills, avoid risky behaviors, and land better jobs with higher incomes as adults. When parents have reliable care for their kids, they are more productive on the job, and businesses benefit. 4 in 5 parents report that afterschool programs help them keep their jobs.Watch
Join us for a webinar to explore this CCDF policy change as an opportunity for afterschool providers to collaborate with state agencies, identify service gaps, and explore ways school-age programs can be included in funding opportunities to meet underserved needs.Watch
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