An Act To Promote High-quality After-school Programs in Public Schools

CONCEPT DRAFT SUMMARY

This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208.

This bill proposes to amend the provisions in law regarding high-quality after-school programs under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, chapter 318. Currently, funds to provide high-quality after-school programs are provided by the After-school Program Fund, which receives a substantial amount of funding from the Federal Government that may be terminated or no longer available in the coming years. This bill proposes to seek new funding for the After-school Program Fund and to increase the quality of the after-school programs, including requiring matching funds from the schools that receive the funds and to make grants from the fund competitive. An after-school program that is a recipient of funding from the fund must have as measurable outcomes for the students academic improvement, social emotional learning and family engagement. Criteria for competitive grants would seek to improve or raise the quality of after-school programs by giving preference to schools that would collaborate with and leverage existing community resources that have demonstrated effectiveness, engage in outreach to children and youth and involve local governments, including parks and recreation departments and other schools.