II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1557 

To amend part B of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

Act of 1965 to improve 21st Century Community Learning Centers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 6, 2007 

Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. AKAKA, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend part B of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve 21st Century 

Community Learning Centers. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘21st Century Commu5 nity Learning Centers Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) More than 28,000,000 children in the 

9 United States have parents who work outside the 


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1 home and 14,300,000 children in the United States 

2 are unsupervised after the school day ends. 

3 (2) 6,500,000 children are in after school pro4 grams but an additional 15,300,000 would partici5 pate if such a program were available. 

6 (3) After school programs inspire learning. In 

7 academic year 2003–2004, 45 percent of all 21st 

8 Century Community Learning Centers program par9 ticipants had improved their reading grades, and 41 

10 percent improved their mathematics grades. 

11 (4) In academic year 2003–2004 teachers re12 ported that a majority of students who participated 

13 in 21st Century Community Learning Centers pro14 grams demonstrated improved student behavior, par15 ticularly in the areas of academic performance, 

16 homework completion, and class participation. 

17 (5) A growing body of research also suggests 

18 that children who participate in after school pro19 grams attend school more regularly, are more likely 

20 to stay in school, and are better prepared for college 

21 and careers. 

22 (6) Benefits of after school programs extend be23 yond the classroom. Communities with after school 

24 programs have reported reduced vandalism and juve25 nile crime. 


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1 (7) After school programs help working fami2 lies. One study estimates that decreased worker pro3 ductivity due to stress and absenteeism caused by 

4 issues related to after school care arrangements 

5 costs employers $496 to $1,984 per employee, per 

6 year, depending on the annual salary of the em7 ployee. The total cost to the business industry is es8 timated to be between $50,000,000,000 and 

9 $300,000,000,000 annually in lost job productivity. 

10 (8) While students in the United States are 

11 falling behind in science, technology, engineering, 

12 and mathematics (STEM), more than 90 percent of 

13 after school programs funded by 21st Century Com14 munity Learning Centers offer STEM activities, pro15 viding more time for children and youth to gain 

16 skills and build interest in the STEM fields. Evalua17 tions of after school programs offering STEM activi18 ties to students have found increases in the reading, 

19 writing, and science skills proficiency of these stu20 dents. Children who participate in such programs 

21 show more interest in science careers, and are more 

22 likely to have engaged in science activities just for 

23 fun. 

24 (9) Data from 73 after school studies indicate 

25 that after school programs employing evidence-based 


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1 approaches to improving students’ personal and so2 cial skills were consistently successful in producing 

3 multiple benefits for students, including improve4 ments in students’ personal, social, and academic 

5 skills, as well as students’ self-esteem. 

6 (10) Teens who do not participate in after 

7 school programs are nearly 3 times more likely to 

8 skip classes than teens who do participate. The teens 

9 who do not participate are also 3 times more likely 

10 to use marijuana or other drugs, and are more likely 

11 to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, and engage in 

12 sexual activity. In general, self care and boredom 

13 can increase the likelihood that a young person will 

14 experiment with drugs and alcohol by as much as 50 

15 percent. 

16 (11) A 2006 study predicts that by the year 

17 2010 more than 46 percent of school-age children in 

18 the Americas will be overweight and 1 in 7 such chil19 dren will be obese. A study of after school program 

20 participants in 3 elementary schools found that after 

21 school participants were significantly less likely to be 

22 obese at the 3-year follow-up physical exam and 

23 were more likely to have increased acceptance among 

24 their peers. After school programs provide children 


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1 and youth with opportunities to engage in sports 

2 and other fitness activities. 

3 (12) After school programs have been identified 

4 as effective venues for improving nutrition, nutrition 

5 education, and physical activity at a time when just 

6 20 percent of youth in grades 9 through 12 consume 

7 the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegeta8 bles. 

9 (13) After school programs also provide chil10 dren and youth with opportunities for service learn11 ing, a teaching and learning approach that inte12 grates student-designed service projects that address 

13 community needs with academic studies. With struc14 tured time to reflect on their service experience, 

15 these projects can strengthen student engagement, 

16 enhance students’ academic achievement, lower 

17 school drop out and suspension rates, and help de18 velop important workforce skills that employers are 

19 looking for, including leadership skills, critical think20 ing, teamwork, and oral and written communication. 

21 SEC. 3. REFERENCES. 

22 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

23 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

24 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi25 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 


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1 section or other provision of the Elementary and Sec2 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301). 

3 SEC. 4. 21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS. 

4 (a) PURPOSE.—Section 4201 (20 U.S.C. 7171) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)(2)— 

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘service learning and nu8 trition education,’’ after ‘‘youth development ac9 tivities,’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘recreation programs’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘physical fitness and wellness pro12 grams’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (b)— 

14 (A) by striking paragraph (2); and 

15 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 

16 (4) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively. 

17 (b) ALLOTMENTS TO STATES.—Section 4202 (20 

18 U.S.C. 7172) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)— 

20 (A) by striking paragraph (1); and 

21 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and 

22 (3) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively; and 

23 (2) in subsection (c)(3)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

2 (A), by striking ‘‘3 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘5 

3 percent’’; and 

4 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(E) Supporting State-level efforts and in6 frastructure to ensure the quality and avail7 ability of after school programs.’’. 

8 (c) AWARD DURATION.—Section 4204(g) (20 U.S.C. 

9 7174(g)) is amended by striking the period and inserting 

10 ‘‘, and are renewable for a period of not less than 3 years 

11 and not more than 5 years based on grant performance.’’. 

12 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

13 4206 (20 U.S.C. 7176) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 4206. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

16 this part such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 

17 2008 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

Æ 


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