Do not cut funding, but instead grow investments in afterschool and summer learning
21st Century Community Learning Centers help youth, parents, and the community
Congress is back after recess in August and only has a few weeks until the fiscal year ends on September 30th. It is a great time to reach out to make the case for robust education funding and to remind Congress that they should pass a spending bill and prevent a government shutdown. Earlier this summer both chambers released their FY 2024 Labor, HHS, Education spending bills: the House bill includes deep cuts to education programs while the Senate bill includes some modest increases. Both bills fund local afterschool and summer learning programs at last year's level. Reach out to your members of Congress to ask them to avoid a government shutdown; and to thank them for their past support and call on them to increase funding for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) initiative – the only federal funding stream dedicated to supporting local school and community-based afterschool, before-school, and summer learning programs.
The families of approximately 25 million children are unable to access an afterschool program. A significant funding increase will help programs cover growing costs and meet the nationwide demand for programs. Please take two minutes to send a message to Congress in support of afterschool and summer learning programs.