Washington, DC (November 21) – This morning, the DC Council is hosting a hearing about Ward 3 Councilmember Matt Frumin’s proposed Universal Out of School Time Amendment Act of 2023. If passed and fully funded, this legislation would expand the District’s capacity to meet out-of-school-time programming needs for all of the District’s children and youth by 2035. There is currently a deficit of more than 50,000 seats.
The legislation is supported by a super majority of the council (Frumin, R. White, Pinto, Lewis George, Allen, Gray, Nadeau, T. White, Parker, McDuffie, and Bonds) who agree that afterschool, before-school, summer, and school break programs are crucial to young people’s growth and development. The District’s OST programs promote academic achievement, school attendance, social-emotional skill development, mental health well-being, mentorship opportunities, and career exploration and readiness. Nearly all District parents (89%) support expanding public investments for out-of-school-time programs. In comparison, the District is only able to meet the needs of roughly 40% of families, with the greatest disparities in Wards 7 and 8. Currently, there are just:
- 36,450 afterschool programming seats Districtwide for 88,905 public school students, a deficit of 52,455
- 31,478 seats available Districtwide for summer programs for 88,905 public school students, a deficit of 57,42
A wide and diverse range of supporters from across all eight wards are testifying today, including young people and program providers who serve tens of thousands of students, such as the Children’s Legacy Theater, Mikva Challenge, DC SCORES, Kid Power, and many others. Local and national policy and research advocacy organizations also testified, including the nationally recognized Afterschool Alliance, which has conducted extensive research on the importance of out-of-school time programming, DC Action, which convenes the DC Out-of-School Time Coalition that mobilized supporters for the hearing today, and the DC Policy Center, which conducted an extensive needs-based assessment that showed the District would need to more than double the number of spots available to meet the demand from families. Other witnesses included community-based advocacy organizations like EmpowerEd and PAVE, along with members of the State Board of Education and Washington Teachers Union.
Kimberly Perry, executive director of DC Action, which convenes the DC Out-of-School-Time Coalition, testified that:
“Out-of-School-Time programming provides an essential safety net for working families by ensuring that young people have a safe, supportive and enriching space to learn and develop when the school day ends. These programs make a major difference in the lives of young people who participate in them, but lack of funding and other barriers, such as cost, transportation, and geographic accessibility mean that more than 53,000 young people don’t have access to the programs they need during the school year, and 57,000 during the summer. Policymakers can and must take action to remedy this by passing and fully funding the Universal Out of School Time Amendment Act to ensure all, not just some, of our young people have the support and resources they need to grow up safe, resilient, powerful, and heard.”
Jani Cousins, a senior at Cesar Chavez Public Charter for Public Policy and a Ward 7 resident shared:
“If the District guaranteed universal access to free OST programs, young people would have the structure they need to explore new ideas and set life goals. OST programs give you passion, excitement, and fulfillment, all in a safe environment. You have fun with the people you meet. They show you places and parts of life you’ve never experienced before. When young people see what’s possible, they get their priorities straight and set a path for their future.”
James Morgan, the Executive Director of Higher Achievement, stressed the importance of programs like his and the need to make them available to all students in ways that meet their needs, stating:
“What makes the out-of-school time space so unique is the flexibility it provides to meet a kid’s interests and needs. We know from our scholars and families that a one-size fits-all approach is not the solution. Communities want choices, they want opportunities, and they want them to be convenient. As the District works to scale up out-of-school time offerings to reach every public school student, I’m glad to see this bill prioritizes investing in community-based providers to expand their specialized and trusted services – this is how the government can be a true partner with us in serving District youth.”