Biden administration releases FY 2023 budget proposal, increases afterschool funding

Photo by Ana Lanza on Unsplash

Today the Biden administration released its FY 2023 discretionary budget request, coming just weeks after Congress finished work on the much delayed FY 2022 spending bill. With regard to afterschool and summer learning support, the proposal asks for a $21 million increase for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC), which would mean $1.31 billion in funding for local afterschool and summer learning programs. The proposed budget also once again includes historic funding levels requested for full-service community schools and Title I, which provides funding to high poverty schools. The full budget proposal now heads to Congress where the FY 2023 appropriations process is just beginning.

In justifying the request for the increase in 21^st CCLC funding, the budget states the following:

The request reflects the importance of out-of-school programming in the
development of elementary and secondary school students, as well as the administration’s commitment to expanding access to high-quality, evidence-based afterschool programs as a core equity strategy aimed at closing the opportunity, achievement, and attainment gaps between students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, and other students. With a broad array of authorized activities and delivery models, the program allows grantees to meet locally identified needs, from academic enrichment and tutoring to help students meet challenging state standards to programming that improves students’ social and emotional well-being and provides students with access to a well-rounded education.  

The FY 2023 budget request follows up on the president’s proposed $20 billion increased investment in high-poverty schools last year, which resulted in a $1 billion increase in the final spending bill. This year, to address entrenched disparities in education, the administration is again proposing a $36.5 billion investment in Title I grants which is a $19 billion increase from the 2022 enacted level. According to the Biden administration, this investment would provide historically under-resourced schools with the funding needed to deliver a high-quality education to all of their students. Among the allowable uses for Title I, funds can be used by high-need school districts to support afterschool and summer learning programs.

Additionally, the budget request prioritizes the physical and mental well-being of students coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing the profound effect of physical and mental health on academic achievement, the discretionary request provides $468 million for Full Service Community Schools – a $398 million increase over the enacted FY 2022 level – which play a critical role in providing comprehensive wrap-around services to students and their families, from afterschool to adult education opportunities and health and nutrition services.

Overall the Department of Education (ED) would receive $88.3 billion in discretionary funding, which is a $12.9 billion (17 percent) increase over the 2022 net enacted level. The budget request was not updated to reflect the 2022 funding signed into law two weeks ago, so the proposed budget references a two-year funding increase from the 2021 level. The president’s budget did not intend to cut any education programs, but there are “artificial cuts” to 34 ED programs that the administration intended to increase but that received more in 2022 than the administration anticipated, thus creating a decrease between 2022 enacted and the 2023 request. The administration reportedly supports the higher of the two levels and does not intend to push for a 2023 requested level that inadvertently is lower than 2022 enacted.

Specific funding levels in the budget proposal for education programs that support afterschool and summer include:

• The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers: $1.31 billion, which would be $51 million over the FY22 continuing resolution but is $21 million above the 2022 enacted level of $1.289 billion. This is the largest funding stream exclusively for afterschool and summer learning and provides 1.7 million students with quality programming outside of the school day.
• Title I Grants to Local Education Agencies: $36.5 billion, an increase of $19 billion 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 II-A Funds for Teacher Professional Development: An increase of $11 million is proposed.
• Title IV Full Service Community Schools: $468 million, an increase of $393 million over FY 22 enacted funding level, to provide comprehensive services and expand evidence-based models that meet the holistic needs of children, families, and communities. Out-of-school time programs are key element of community schools.
• Title IV Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants: $7 million proposed increase. 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. 
• TRIO and GEAR UP: $1.298 billion for Federal TRIO programs, an increase of $16 million above the 2022 enacted level. Additionally, $408 million for GEAR UP, an increase of $30 million above the 2022 enacted level.
• Education, Innovation, and Research (EIR): $514 million is proposed, which is a $280 million increase from FY 2022. EIR funds have been used in past years for STEM education as well as evidence-based, field-initiated innovations that address student social and emotional learning needs. 
• Career, Technical Education (CTE): An increase of $21 million is proposed for the Perkins V CTE program. 

And in the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies:

• Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG): $7.6 billion, an increase of $1.4 billion over the FY 2022 enacted level; in addition to supporting child care for children ages birth through five, the CCDBG funds afterschool programs for just under 1 million school-age children.
• Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS): $1.34 billion, a 16 percent increase above the FY 2022 enacted level. CNCS supports AmeriCorps and VISTA that are a key asset for hundreds of afterschool programs.
• Youth Mentoring: $120 million for FY 2023 to support mentoring programs including those provided through afterschool programs, an increase of $18 million over FY 2022 enacted levels.

This budget proposal serves as an appropriations outline for the administration, and will likely factor heavily into the government funding bills for FY 2023 that the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will be crafting later this spring and summer. Congress does not enact exactly what the president requests, although usually a Congress of the same party as the president will try to include at least key priorities from the president’s request. The FY 2023 appropriations bills are scheduled to be completed before the end of this fiscal year on September 30, although realistically the budget may be finalized much later in the calendar year. Now is a good time to reach out to Congress to thank them for supporting afterschool and summer in the American Rescue Plan and to emphasize the need to support 21st CCLC and afterschool and summer funding moving forward.