H.R. 8654. A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to reauthorize the Nita M. Lowey Community Learning Centers program for fiscal years 2026 through 2035, and for other purposes
Reauthorize the Nita M. Lowey Community Learning Centers program for fiscal years 2026 through 2035.
Occurrences
Evidence
The Department of Education’s current program page shows the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program as an active formula grant program and references FY 2026 materials and guidance, indicating the program continues to operate under existing authority. The page does not describe any new reauthorization enacted for fiscal years 2026 through 2035.
The FY 2026 congressional justification lists the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program with 'FY 2026 Authorization: To be determined' and a 2026 request of $0. That framing indicates no settled 2026 authorization was assumed in the budget request materials.
This Congressional Record page discusses the 'LOWEY 21st Century Community Learning Centers' and related funding, reflecting the program’s existing statutory terminology and continued congressional usage, but it predates the 2026 lookback window and does not show a new reauthorization for 2026-2035.
The Department of Education’s current program page still treats the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program as an active formula grant and describes ongoing 2026 subgrantee spotlight activity. The page shows continuing administration of the program, but it does not show that Congress enacted a new 2026-2035 reauthorization.
The FY 2026 budget justification says the 21st Century Community Learning Centers line item had an FY 2026 authorization 'to be determined' and that the Administration would consolidate the program into the K-12 Simplified Funding Program, with zero FY 2026 state awards requested. That is consistent with the authorization still being unsettled, not with a completed reauthorization for fiscal years 2026 through 2035.
GovInfo's ESEA compilation lists Part B as the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program and section 4206 as the authorization provision. Section 4206 authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 2017 and fiscal years 2018 through 2020 only, not fiscal years 2026 through 2035.
The FY 2026 budget justification's authorizing-legislation table lists 21st Century Community Learning Centers under ESEA IV-B with FY 2026 authorization marked TBD, a FY 2026 request of $0, and a note that the GEPA extension expired September 30, 2021.
The program-specific FY 2026 budget page for 21st Century Community Learning Centers states FY 2026 Authorization: To be determined, shows a 2024 appropriation of $1.329673 billion and a 2026 request of $0, and says the request would consolidate 21st CCLC into a proposed K-12 Simplified Funding Program.
Public Law 119-75 made FY2026 appropriations for Department of Education School Improvement Programs and provided $1.329673 billion for part B of title IV of the ESEA. This is an annual appropriation for FY2026 activities, not statutory language reauthorizing section 4206 for fiscal years 2026 through 2035.
The Education Department program page identifies the program authority as Title IV, Part B of the ESEA, as amended by ESSA, 20 U.S.C. 7171-7176. The funding table lists appropriations through FY2025 and the page describes ongoing program administration, but it does not identify a new FY2026-FY2035 reauthorization.
Assessments
The promised outcome was a statutory reauthorization of the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program for FY2026 through FY2035. The supplied statutory compilation still shows the authorization ending with FY2020, FY2026 budget materials list the authorization as 'to be determined,' and FY2026 appropriations only funded the program for that year rather than reauthorizing it through 2035. The record provided does not show Eleanor Holmes Norton sponsoring, writing, or materially advancing an enacted reauthorization, nor a serious failed attempt specific enough to warrant an effort badge.
The promise was to secure a specific statutory outcome: reauthorization of the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program for fiscal years 2026 through 2035. The evidence shows the program continued operating administratively in 2026, but Department of Education materials did not identify any enacted 2026-2035 reauthorization. FY 2026 budget justification materials still listed the program's FY 2026 authorization as 'to be determined,' which is inconsistent with a completed reauthorization. There is also no evidence here that Norton delivered the promised reauthorization or materially advanced a successful enactment that later became law. Continued operation of the existing program is not the same as achieving the promised reauthorization.
Available evidence shows the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program remained active into FY 2026, but it does not show that Congress enacted the specific promised reauthorization for fiscal years 2026 through 2035. Department of Education materials indicate the program was operating, while FY 2026 budget documents described the authorization as 'to be determined,' which cuts against concluding the reauthorization had been completed. There is also no evidence here that Norton secured passage of such a reauthorization, nor clear evidence of a substantial failed push attributable to her specifically. Because the record provided does not establish either delivery or a definitive failure of the promised reauthorization, the best judgment is unresolved.