Senate appropriators mark up FY 2026 education spending bill, maintain dedicated 21st CCLC funding

The Senate Appropriations Committee released and marked up its Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 2026) Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) bill today. It proposes $200.1 billion in base discretionary funding for FY 2026, and the committee approved the bill along bipartisan lines by a vote of 26-3. The 21st Century Community Learning Centers Initiative (21st CCLC)—the only federal funding stream dedicated to afterschool, before-school, and summer learning programs—would receive the same amount it did in FY 2025, $1.329 billion.

Earlier this year, the White House proposed to eliminate funding for 21st CCLC, instead collapsing it into a block grant with 17 other education programs. It is good news that the Senate Appropriations Committee rejected that proposal, and we are grateful to the leadership of Appropriations Committee Chair Collins (R-Maine) and Ranking Member Murray (D-Wash.) and Subcommittee Chair Capito (R-W.V.) and Ranking Member Baldwin (D-Wisc.). 

The mark-up of the spending bill also comes after the Administration received widespread, withering criticism for withholding FY 2025 funding for 21st CCLC for 18 days earlier this month, eventually releasing the funds in response to the public outcry and requests from bipartisan members of Congress. In response, the Senate LHHS bill includes a new Sec 313 that would require the Secretary of Education to provide formula funds to states on the date they become available for obligation. Additionally, Sec 314 would ensure that staffing levels in the Department of Education allow it to perform its obligations in a timely manner.

The Senate FY 2026 LHHS bill still has to pass the full chamber and be reconciled with the House version. The House Appropriations Committee delayed its mark-up of the FY 2026 LHHS sending bill until early September.

The Senate spending proposal was developed with bipartisan support. The spending levels agreed to by Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins and Ranking Member Patty Murray are higher than those set by the House of Representatives. This month the House Appropriations Committee released its allocation for the  FY 2026 Labor-HHS-Education bill – setting aside $184.5 billion, a 7% cut from current funding and 7.8% lower than the Senate bill. As a result, the House bill is expected to include deeper cuts to programs in order to meet House spending targets. The two bills will eventually need to be reconciled. The current fiscal year ends on September 30, by which time spending bills must be signed into law, or Congress must have passed a continuing resolution in order to prevent a government shutdown.

The Senate bill would provide $79 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education. Key funding provisions of the Senate bill include the following:

• $1.329 billion for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program (Title IV Part B), which supports before-school, afterschool and summer learning programs for nearly 1.4 million students. The program would receive the same amount of funding as it did in FY 2025. The bill does not consolidate 21st CCLC funds into a new block grant as proposed by the President’s FY 2026 budget.
   
• $8.831 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant—an $85 million increase over fiscal year 2025—which will help more families across the country find and afford the child care they need. This Department of Health and Human Services program supports school-age children with afterschool and summer programs, in addition to providing child care to infants and toddlers.
   
• $18.457 billion for Title I Part A formula grants for Local Education Agencies, a $50 million increase over FY 2025. These education funds can be used by school districts serving low-income students to support afterschool and summer learning as well as a wide range of other activities and student supports.
   
• $1.38 billion for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants, also known as Title IV Part A. This program would receive the same amount as in FY 2025. These funds can be used for afterschool Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), physical activity, education technology, and a host of other uses. The bill does not consolidate these funds into a new block grant as proposed by the President’s FY 2026 budget.
   
• $135 million for Full Service Community Schools, down from $150 million last year; this funding supports comprehensive services and expands evidence-based models that meet the holistic needs of children, families, and communities, including afterschool and summer learning components
   
• $20 million for statewide family engagement centers which provide grants to statewide organizations and consortiums of organizations to bridge family, school and community partnerships
   
• $1.45 billion for career and technical education (CTE) – down slightly from FY 2025 levels, which can be used for school community partnerships supporting middle school and high school youth engaged in career-connected learning
   
• $75 million for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program, level funding from FY 2025. The funding provides competitive grants for campuses to offer child care centers including before and afterschool programs to support parents in accessing post-secondary education.
   
• $1.23 billion for Federal Work Study, level with last year, which can help support college students working in afterschool and other community-based organizations while attending college
   
• $635 million for AmeriCorps State and National grants. This will support AmeriCorps members serving in communities across the country and working to address pressing challenges, including supporting afterschool and summer learning programs.
   
• $20 million to continue Career Pathways for Youth Grants 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

Congressionally Directed Funding requests, similar to the earmarks of the past, are also included in the Senate bill, with senators submitting more than 12,000 funding requests. (There will again be none in the House spending proposal.) Funding requests for local programs in Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Washington, and elsewhere are included in the Senate bill.  

With regard to 21^st Century Community Learning Centers, the legislation includes Report Language that echoes the intention of the Report Language included in FY 2024:

The Committee is aware of concerns with the lack of efficiency and the delivery process within the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, and urges the Department to examine the distribution of funds through State departments of education to ensure that their competitive grant and reporting process is streamlined, adheres to congressional intent, is void of additional regulations, and does not disadvantage rural schools, including but not limited to, creating barriers to partnership with non-profit organizations. Furthermore, the Department is directed to report to the Committee within 180 days of enactment of this act on its progress and findings and any additional measures taken to address the program’s overall standards.

The bill now awaits approval by the full Senate, and the House must pass its version, first at Committee level and then on the House floor.

The voices of programs and program supporters are as important as ever in this process! We know 25 million youth await access to affordable afterschool programs. With the White House proposal to eliminate 21st CCLC and the recent temporary withholding of this year’s funds, uncertainty remains, and it is essential to continue reaching out to representatives about the need for dedicated afterschool and summer funding. For local afterschool and summer programs, the same amount of funding as last year represents a cut as costs continue to increase, making it challenging to serve the same number of students in the future and failing to address growing demand for afterschool and summer learning programs.

Now is the moment for friends of afterschool to let Congress know that releasing the FY 2025 funds was important, and funding in FY 2026 for the 2026-2027 school year is imperative.