Overview

The reauthorized 21st Century Community Learning Centers program will: (1) allocate funds to States by formula; (2) target funds to schools with the greatest need; and (3) require centers to provide academic enrichment activities.

Changes from Current Law

• Awarding of Funds - Converts the 21st Century Community Learning Centers authority to a State formula grant. Currently, the Department makes competitive awards directly to LEAs. Under the reauthorized authority, funds would flow to States based on their share of Title I, Part A funds. States would use their allocations to make competitive awards to eligible entities.

• Emphasis on Providing Academic Enrichment Opportunities - Clearly establishes that the purpose of the program is to provide academic enrichment activities to students, particularly students who attend low-performing schools, to help them meet State and local standards. To ensure that centers operate high-quality programs, local grantees are required to develop programs that meet specified principles of effectiveness.

• Targeting - Requires States to make awards only to applicants that will primarily serve students who attend schools with concentrations of poor students. Also, requires States to provide a priority for applications proposing to target funds to schools identified for improvement under Title I and submitted jointly by an LEA receiving Title I Part A funds and a community-based organization or other public or private entity.

• Extends Eligibility to Additional Organizations - Allows community-based organizations (which would include faith-based organizations) and other public or private entities, in addition to local educational agencies, to compete for program funds.

Accountability

• Local - Requires local grantees to implement programs that meet specified principles of effectiveness. In addition, requires grantees to evaluate periodically their programs to assess progress toward achieving the goal of providing high-quality opportunities for academic enrichment.

• State - Requires each State to develop performance indicators and performance measures that it can use to evaluate programs and activities.

• Federal - No specific accountability provisions, but authorizes the Secretary to reserve up to one percent for, among other things, national evaluation activities.

Allocations of Funds

• Federal to State - Formula based on each State's prior-year share of Title I, Part A.

• Within State - Competitive awards to eligible entities.

Set-Asides

• Federal - (1) The amount necessary to support awards made prior to the reauthorization; (2) up to 1 percent for the BIA and Outlying Areas; and (3) up to 1 percent for national activities.

• State - (1) Up to 2 percent for administration, peer review, and supervision of awards; and (2) up to 3 percent for, among other things, evaluation and technical assistance activities.