BREAKING NEWS: Yesterday, President Biden signed into law the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which provides $30.35 billion for afterschool and summer learning programs across the United States!
The American Rescue Plan provides a total of $121.975 billion for K-12 schools through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) III. Funds will flow through state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs), but SEAs and LEAs are encouraged to identify and work with community partners to be able to increase capacity, with the goal of being able to serve all students who want to participate in afterschool and summer learning opportunities this summer and during the upcoming school year.
Funding available for afterschool and summer includes:
Funding to LEAs
- $21.9 billion specifically for learning recovery; afterschool, summer, and expanded learning programs are allowable uses
Funding to SEAs
- $1.22 billion set-aside for summer enrichment
- $1.22 billion set-aside for afterschool programs
- $6.1 billion specifically for learning recovery, including afterschool/summer/expanded learning
- Total = $8.45 billion
In addition, approximately $15 billion is allocated to child care providers through the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG). An additional $24 billion is included for child care stabilization grant funds. Kentucky is expected to receive over $763 million to secure our struggling child care sector.
The Afterschool Alliance expects that funds will start getting distributed in the next four to six weeks and can be spent over the next 24-30 months; however, the deadline for using these funds could extend longer than 30 months. The Afterschool Alliance and KYOSA will be providing more specific details on the spending timeline as they become available.
This is a historic win for children, young people, and families across the nation. The President and Congress have sent a clear message that afterschool and summer learning programs stand ready with high-quality, evidence-based interventions to help our kids recover from the pandemic.
None of this would have happened without the passion and dedication of the afterschool field. There’s lots of work to do ahead to capitalize on this opportunity—so take a moment to celebrate!
Dig into the details about this historic investment in afterschool and summer learning on the Afterschool Alliance’s website:
The Kentucky Out-of-School Alliance will be making available on our website a variety of state-level resources for programs, school districts, and other partners as soon as more information becomes available. Check back soon.