Education Program

Before- and After-school Programs

Before- and after-school programs are school or community-based programs that occur before the school day begins and from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. on weekday afternoons. Generally, these programs offer a variety of activities, including both academic and enrichment activities, and consistently operate two to three hours a day during school day, throughout the school year.

State legislative approaches to after-school policy are driven by states' unique context, needs and goals. Some states have funded programs with the aim of reducing criminal and other risky behavior in children and teens. Other programs are academically focused, with the goal of helping children improve test scores, apply for college, or take courses not available during the traditional school day.

Several states have enacted legislation establishing statewide programs, including California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Tennessee. The 2007 legislative session resulted in the enactment of several additional statewide initiatives with a variety of aims:

Iowa legislators voted this year to make $1 million available for grants for afterschool. In addition, $2.5 million of new funding was appropriated for supplemental educational strategies, including before- and after-school programs that schools can use to ensure kids are keeping up with their peers academically.
The Kansas Middle School Afterschool Activity Advancement Grant (KMSA3) was enacted this year, securing $400,000 of new state funds for programs serving middle-school students. A competitive grants process will award funding to programs providing all three of the following: physical activity, career/higher learning opportunities and academic enhancement.
Minnesota allocated $5.4 million over two years for afterschool community learning opportunities grants.
The Missouri legislature provided $500,000 for programs focused on Math, Engineering, Technology and Science (METS) and another $500,000 for obesity prevention programs.

NCSL Publications

NCSL has recently completed a 50-state survey of state funding for afterschool. The results can be found here, "State Funding for Expanded Learning Opportunities". girl with pencils

Read recommendations for policymakers provided by the National Time and Learning Task force as well as innovative state examples of expanded learning opportunities in this State Legislatures magazine article, "A New Day for Learning", published in 2007

Visitor counts for this page.

Back arrow, return to previous page Education Home Page

NCSL's Supporting Student Success Project:

ELO Legislation

ELO 2008 Legislative Update: Over 70 seperate legislative actions on ELOs for 2008

Afterschool Database Resources

Afterschool Publications

Making Smart Investments in Afterschool: A Policy Primer for State and Local Leaders. Afterschool Investments Project. (2006)
Extended Learning Opportunities: A Policy Statement of the Council of Chief State School Officers. Council of Chief State School Officers. (2006)
Building and Sustaining After-School Programs: Successful Practices in School Board Leadership. National School Boards Association. (2005)
Using NCLB funds to Support Extended Learning Time: Opportunities for Afterschool Programs. Council of Chief State School Officers & The Finance Project. (2005).
The Costs of Out-of-School Time Programs: A Review of the Available Evidence: The Finance Project & Public/Private Ventures. (2006).
Sustaining 21st Century Community Learning Centers: What Works for Programs and How Policymakers Can Help: The Finance Project. (2006).
Promising Afterschool Practices: A Showcase - This second edition of Promising Afterschool Practices compiles nine promising systems, processes, and activities used by the New Jersey After 3 afterschool programs.
Giving Parents Options: School-choice and SES - U.S. DOE resource to assist state education agencies (SEAs) and school districts in implementing the public school choice and supplemental educational services (SES) provisions of NCLB.

Afterschool News

After-school Programs as an Oasis of Hope for Black Parents in 4 cities: The Black Alliance for Educational Options report released on October 18, 2007
MA Releases After-School Commission Report: Concluding months of research, the Massachusetts special commission on After-school and Out of School time just released their final report. The report found an estimated 80 percent of the state's children and youth are not participating in programs.
Outcomes Linked to High-Quality Afterschool Programs: Longitudinal findings from the study of promising afterschool programs.
The Quality of School-Age Child Care in After-School Settings - Emerging research indicates that regular attendance in quality after-school programs can yield a range of positive developmental outcomes for school-age children, but many after-school programs struggle with understanding and improving the quality of their programs.
After-School Offerings Decline In Urban Schools - As another school year approaches, many of the extracurricular activities that have long interested Milwaukee students are relics of the past. Although there are notable expecptions, gone are the days when city high schools had a array of sports, a drama club, a school musical, a band, an orchestra, a choir, an active yearbook and an assortment of other organizations.
Contact Jennifer Stedron
Contact Heather Chikoore

Education Program Before- and After-school Programs