RIASPA Public Policy Update
March 2010 Federal Budget Update
On February 1, President Obama released his FY2011 Budget Proposal to the public, and it reveals some troubling news for afterschool programming across the country. The President’s Budget combines the 21st Century Community Learning Center Program with several other federal programs, and does not include an increase in funding over last year. This amounts to a $13 million cut in 21st Century funding, since the President’s proposal combines programs and creates more competition among the combined federal programs. While the President has proposed these changes, it is Congress’ responsibility to enact the budget into law—they are able to make changes, including increasing funding or changing the way that funding is allocated. RIASPA encourages you to contact both the President and your members of Congress to explain how important afterschool and summer programming is to Rhode Island’s children and youth. Contact information for Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation is available by clicking the blue “Take Action” button located in the upper right-hand corner of this page. It is also clear that the President is using this budget as a roadmap for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which includes funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers and Full Service Community Schools. It is critical that Rhode Island also contact the White House to explain what changes to the 21st Century and Full Service Community Schools would mean to the children and youth of our state. You can contact the White House by calling (202) 456-1414. RIASPA is also working with our national partners and Rhode Island’s members of Congress to ensure that the final budget meets the needs of children, youth, and families across Rhode Island by strengthening afterschool and summer learning.
Taskforce on Summer Learning Gathering Steam
RIASPA has been working closely with the state’s Joint Legislative Taskforce on Summer Learning. The Taskforce, which was formed after the passage of H5967, is studying the importance of high-quality summer learning programs in Rhode Island as an alternative to traditional summer school. The Taskforce will also be making recommendations for how the state can encourage districts to implement high-quality, experiential summer learning programs open to all students, rather than traditional remedial summer school that is open to only those students who require credit recovery. As of March, the Taskforce, which is co-chaired by Representative Ed Pacheco and Senator Frank DeVall, has heard presentations and received testimony from high-quality middle school summer programs in Central Falls, and received testimony about the national summer learning landscape from Jeff Smink of the National Summer Learning Association. Future meetings of the Taskforce will focus on high-quality elementary and high school summer programs in Rhode Island and on the recommendations that the Taskforce will make to the legislature. All meetings are open to the public; you are encouraged to attend. The next meeting is Thursday, March 25, at 3:00 PM at the State House.
RIASPA Public Policy Update
December 2009
Expanded Learning Time Planning Grants Announced
RIASPA was successful in having a $100,000 line item included in the FY2010 budget that offers planning grants to schools to experiment with expanded learning. Once the budget passed, RIASPA worked closely with RIDE to develop and release the RFP. Four sites were selected for planning grants: Veazie Street Elementary School and Gilbert Stuart Middle School in Providence, Calcutt Middle School in Central Falls, and Citizens Memorial Elementary School in Woonsocket. The grants were announced at a November 23 press conference with Governor Donald L. Carcieri and Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Deborah A. Gist.
Update on Legislation
H5802, the Afterschool and Summer Learning Demonstration Bill, passed and was signed into law during the 2009 Session. The bill mandates that the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) submit a report to the legislature about the importance of afterschool and summer learning programs, and what the ideal demonstration program in the state would look like. RIASPA is working closely with RIDE to create the report, and we have commissioned Acadia Consulting and the National Summer Learning Association to prepare the report for the legislature. Additional information on this report, including a draft that the field can comment on, will be available in the coming months.
H5967, a resolution that creates a legislative task force on summer learning, passed the General Assembly during the special session in October. Sponsored by Representative Ed Pacheco, the legislation creates a task force to study the impact that summer learning programs are having in Rhode Island. The task force is also charged with reporting to the legislature about the programs, as well as where there are gaps in summer programming that must be addressed. RIASPA is working closely with Representative Pacheco to assemble the task force by the end of December. Some task force member organizations include the Rhode Island School Age Child Care Association, the State Alliance of Rhode Island YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs of Rhode Island, and the 21st Century Community Learning Center Network. For a full list of task force participants, please email Adam Greenman: adam.greenman@afterschoolri.org.
Legislative Site Visits
On November 17, RIASPA began the first in a series of legislative site visits to Rhode Island afterschool programs. The first visit, to the Kidventure program in Cranston, included Representatives Charlene Lima and Robert Jacquard, as well as Cranston Mayor Allan Fung. Mayor Fung and the legislators toured several of the programs taking place at Kidventure, and met with parents from the program. The next legislative site visit is scheduled for December 15 at the Deering Middle School in West Warwick. Monthly visits will continue into 2010. The purpose of these visits is to help legislators understand the importance of afterschool programs in Rhode Island’s communities, and to introduce them to the high-quality programming that occurs throughout the state.
RIASPA Public Policy Update
September 2009 Expanded Learning Time Funding
For the past several months, RIASPA has been chairing the Expanded Learning Time Committee of the Rhode Island Urban Education Task Force. We are pleased to report that $100,000 was included in the FY 2010 state budget for the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to launch an Expanded Learning Time Initiative. Planning grants will enable selected schools in partnership with community partners, parents, youth, and others to redesign the school day by adding more time for core academics, enrichment activities, and professional development for teachers and community partners. RIASPA will continue to work with RIDE to ensure that high quality afterschool and summer programs are an integral component of the Expanded Learning Time Initiative. It is absolutely essential to understand that an expanded learning time initiative is not just extending time, but providing high-quality, engaging, enriching learning opportunities during that time. In other words, it is more time well-used. More time well-used helps students, teachers, community-based organizations, and families. + It helps students by providing enhanced academics and enrichment activities that are critical to the healthy development of the whole child.
+ It helps teachers by providing the time for high-quality professional development and the time to teach in a way that deepens the curriculum and/or connects learning to real-world applications.
+ It helps community-based organizations (CBOs) because they can enhance and solidify meaningful partnerships with schools and potentially serve more students. Rhode Island has a rich array of high-quality afterschool and summer programs run by community-based organizations which enables us to build from a strong foundation on their work. If community and school professionals were to cross-fertilize their knowledge and their educational and youth development strategies, the learning experiences for our children could be extraordinarily rich.
+ Finally, it helps families with working parents who need their children engaged in high-quality activities until they come home from work.
Afterschool and Summer Learning Legislation
We are excited to announce that H 5802, the "Rhode Island After School and Summer Learning Program Act," passed the Rhode Island General Assembly this past spring. The legislation directs the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (RIDE) to begin planning “a demonstration after school and summer learning program”. During this planning phase, RIDE, in partnership with the Rhode Island Afterschool Plus Alliance, will: (1) quantify the resources needed to achieve and maintain high quality standards based on existing quality standards in after school and summer learning programs; (2) identify incentives and supports to develop a qualified workforce, including opportunities for professional development, planning time and staff development.
RIASPA Public Policy Update June 2009 Download RIASPA’s Public Policy Platform State Budget 2009 State Budget Supplemental Bill As you may know, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) has been developing a statewide transportation system for all students. The supplemental budget bill included an article that mandated all school districts--except those that own their own buses--participate in the system. RIASPA is working with RIDE to include afterschool and child care programs in the statewide system. An anticipated start date of the 2011-2012 school year is expected for including afterschool and child care programs in the statewide system. May Revenue Estimating Conference The May Revenue Estimating Conference, a semi-annual assessment of state revenue, met last month to determine what revenue is available as the state budget is finalized in the General Assembly. The results were discouraging. The conference estimated that revenues were $70 million lower for the current fiscal year, and would be $130 million lower for the new fiscal year starting July 1, 2009. This means that the supplemental budget for 2009 passed in April will need to be adjusted again to reflect the $70 million in lower revenue and most likely even deeper cuts will be needed for the 2010 budget. RIASPA will keep you up to date on changes to the state budget. $100,000 in Funding is in the 2010 State Budget for Expanded Learning Time Expanded learning time (ELT) melds the best of the school day with the best of afterschool and summer learning programs, and provides for increased and enhanced academic support for students; increased and improved professional development for teachers; and more opportunities for enrichment activities. The funding will allow for the Rhode Island Department of Education to establish a planning time for competitively selected schools to form an Expanded Learning Time program. The ELT programs developed by the school in partnership with at least one community-based organization will provide high-quality, engaging, enriching learning opportunities to provide additional time for students, both to reinforce achievement of basic skills and to move them beyond proficiency as well as to increase their opportunities for participating in electives and diverse enrichment opportunities. In our role of chair of the Expanded Learning Time committee of the Urban Education Task Force, RIASPA is highly supportive of this initiative and testified in front of both the House and Senate Finance Committees in support of the funding for ELT. We will work diligently to ensure that afterschool and summer learning programs play an active role in the planning and roll-out of an ELT program at a school. RIASPA will monitor the budget situation and continue to advocate for the funding for expanded learning time stay in the state budget. Budget Article 26 – Child Care One budget article to note in the 2010 proposed budget is budget article 26 relating to child care. New language is proposed to allow the department of human services to: “establish by regulation adjustments to rates...in order to reimburse child care centers and all child care providers in the most equitable manner possible, taking into account limited funds, for the increased costs resulting from enhanced health, safety and oversight requirements in the department’s rules and regulations.”
Since there is level funding for child care any change to the rates will have to be done within the funding allocated, meaning that funding from one area will be taken and given to another area. RIASPA will monitor this budget article. Federal Budget President Obama released his 2010 budget and, disappointingly, did not include any increase in funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC), summer programs or child care. Let President Obama know your disappointment in flat funding the 21st CCLC program by contacting the White House (link). Senators Reed and Whitehouse signed a "Dear Colleague" letter to the Senate Appropriation Committee requesting a significant increase in funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers in the fiscal year 2010 appropriations bill.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Federal Stimulus)
Funds from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are gradually being distributed by state agencies to local communities and community-based organizations. Here’s an update on what’s happening:
Training and Employment Services Funds Available: $5.7 million for youth activities Rhode Island’s two local workforce boards, Workforce Solutions of Providence/Cranston and the Workforce Partnership of Greater Rhode Island, recently sent out a Request for Proposal for summer employment opportunities for youth. The organizations selected for funding will be announced shortly.
Education Funding Funds Available: $48.1 million for Title I and $43.3 million for IDEA (Part B Grants). Afterschool programs may be eligible for funding through Title I, part A funds from ARRA. The U.S. Department of Education has listed funding expanded learning opportunities like afterschool and summer learning programs as a way to improve results for all children (link) (see page 7 for the reference to afterschool and summer learning programs).
If your program is located at a Title I school or collaborates with a Title I school (download the list of Title I schools), contact your Title I director at your school or district (download a list of district Title I directors) to see if Title I funds may be available for your program.
Child Care Funds Available: Total CCDBG Economic Recovery Funds - $5,224,128; CCDBG Funds Excluding Targeted Funds - $4,542,144; Targeted Funds: Quality Expansion - $431,873; and Targeted Funds: Infant/Toddler - $250,111. The Department of Human Services (DHS) has been working on a plan for the $4.5 million in funds available for child care. The plan will provide support for families eligible for child care, providers, and also help to stimulate the economy. RIASPA will send out an announcement when DHS has finalized their plans.
2009 State Legislation
RIASPA has two bills submitted to the General Assembly:
H 5802 - The "Rhode Island After School and Summer Learning Program Act"
This act would require the Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education to begin planning an initial, demonstration after school and summer learning program that meets high-quality standards. The bill passed the House of Representatives unanimously and has been referred to the Senate Education Committee for consideration. RIASPA expects H 5802 to pass. H 5967 – A Joint Resolution Creating a Special Legislative Commission to be Known as “The Task Force on Summer Learning Programs” This resolution would create a thirteen (13) member special legislative task force whose purpose it would be to make a comprehensive study of summer learning programs, and who would report back to the General Assembly no later than March 10, 2010, and whose life would expire on May 31, 2010. The bill had a hearing before the House Constituent Services Committee and is expected to be passed out of committee and brought to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote. Passage out of the General Assembly is expected.
School-Age Child Care Regulations RIASPA formed a working group to make recommendations for updating the Department of Children, Youth and Families' (DCYF) school-age child care licensing regulations. This group has worked diligently and collaboratively over the past 12 months to make recommendations based on best practices. RIASPA will communicate these recommendations in early November to DCYF as the latter embarks upon their revision of the school-age child care licensing regulations. The final version of the working group's recommendations will be posted here later this year. Afterschool Program Cost Calculator RIASPA recently held a meeting with over 30 professionals from the afterschool field to demonstrate our Afterschool Program Cost Calculator, a free tool you can use to determine the cost of your program. The calculator was very well received and the meeting participants gave us several good suggestions for improving the calculator. All of the recommendations have been included in the final version of the calculator. The Calculator enables you to enter in various costs of your program (such as staffing and number of participants) and figure out such things as the total cost of your program and the cost per participant.
This is a great tool for programs, for not only projecting future costs, but also a way to show potential funders the viability of your program.
You can get more information on the Cost Calculator on here. | 
