Update on FY 2023 appropriations: hearings and letters and more as support broadens on Capitol Hill for 21st Century Community Learning Centers

As spring starts to shift to summer, the appropriations process in Congress is picking up steam. In a familiar cycle, the FY 2023 appropriations process kicked off with the president’s budget, followed by members of the Cabinet appearing before Congress to justify the requested budget -- all precursors to the impactful decisions made when the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees and full Committees mark up their spending bills with funding levels for all specific federal programs under their jurisdiction.

The process continued in late April, with Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona testifying in front of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. His comments included a mention of the importance of access to out of school activities for young people. Additionally, letters of support for the 21st Century Community Learning Center program were recently submitted to appropriators by other Members of Congress; those letters demonstrate the strong bipartisan support for afterschool and summer learning programs.

House hearing on the education budget touches on role of afterschool: On Thursday, April 28, the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing on the Department of Education’s Budget Request for FY2023. The hearing followed the release of the president’s FY2023 budget proposal that seeks historic increases to federal education funding and a $21 million increase to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Secretary of Education Cardona was the only witness for the hearing, which focused on a wide range of education funding topics from charter school support to teacher shortages and the need to support student success.  

With regard to support for afterschool and summer learning programs, in response to a question from Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) on the teacher shortage, the Secretary mentioned the role of afterschool programs and other “Grow Your Own” initiatives and how they can encourage young people to consider careers in education. The Education Trust recently published a report on this topic, A Natural Fit: Supporting After-School Staff of Color in Teacher Pipelines, which examines the experiences of current and former teacher candidates of color with afterschool or out of school time experience in order to provide insights into how teacher preparation programs and state policymakers can create the right programmatic experiences and conditions to recruit afterschool/OST staff into the teaching profession.

In answering a question from Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) on pending Title IX regulations and the need to ensure access to out of school activities and programs to girls and girls of color, Secretary Cardona responded in part by emphasizing the Department’s commitment to providing access to “co-curricular” activities and programs like arts, sports, and more. This echoes the statement he made as part of his January address on his vision for education in America where he stated: “I'd like to see every high school student in America participate in at least one extracurricular activity in their school—whether that is being a part of an arts or theater program, athletics, or an afterschool club.  All kids must be seen, all kids must be connected, and all kids must hear their names in school every day.” 

Congress Signs On to Increase Investments in 21^st CCLC: In addition to the appropriations hearings in the House, late last month Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), co-chair of the House Afterschool Caucus, sent a bipartisan Dear Colleague letter signed by almost 50 members of Congress to House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee leaders Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.) sending a clear message by requesting  “…$1.8 billion in funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative – an increase of $500 million over the current level that would provide access to quality afterschool, before-school, and summer learning opportunities for an additional 500,000 students across all 50 states.” The letter was applauded by afterschool advocates and the Afterschool Alliance.

Organizations across America highlight need for additional 21^st CCLC support:  Last week, a broad spectrum of local, state, and national organizations sent their own letter of support for increasing 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding to the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chair and Ranking Member. The letter mentions the impact of COVID on the field and the need for additional support, and cites a fall 2021 survey of more than 1,000 afterschool program providers which found that 54 percent of programs had waiting lists, a significantly greater percentage than in the past, and only 19 percent of providers reporting the ability to access federal COVID-19 relief funds. This broad letter of support comes on the heels of more than 7,800 calls and emails sent to Congress in the past year, all in support of federal afterschool and summer learning funds.

The FY2023 appropriations process is just getting started and still has a long road ahead, with time left for others to show their support for afterschool and summer learning.