Most states watched their after-school programs shrink when federal pandemic aid dried up.
California did the opposite. Between 2021 and 2023, more than $10 billion in federal COVID-relief (ESSER) funds supported 5 million students in after-school and summer programs nationwide. Then, in the fall of 2024, that money ran out. ESSER was one-time emergency aid, not permanent funding, and the federal deadline to commit it passed on September 30, 2024. Many after-school programs have been cutting back or ending ever since.
Here’s the good news for California: the state now covers much of that gap through the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP). It’s the largest source of after-school and summer funding in California, and if you run a program, it’s likely one of the most important funding sources you’ll manage in 2026.
So where does ELOP stand this year, what’s changing, and what should you do about it?
ELOP in 2026, at a Glance
- 2026-27 proposal: +$62.4 million (bringing it to approximately $4.7 billion), pending the June budget
- Tier 1: Districts with 55%+ low-income / English-learner students: $2,750 per eligible student
- Tier 2: Under 55%: proposal would guarantee $1,800 per student
- Grades served: TK–6
- Requirements: 9 hours/day of combined instruction + expanded learning, plus 30 summer days
- Staff ratios: 20:1 (10:1 for TK/K)
- Spending: Funds must be spent by June 30 of the year after they’re allocated, or returned to the state
Sources:
Where ELOP Stands in 2026
ELOP started as a pandemic-era investment, and its funding grew quickly. It launched in 2021-22 at $1.75 billion, then more than doubled the very next year to $4 billion, where it held through 2024-25. Today it’s an ongoing program of roughly $4.6 billion, one of the largest state commitments to expanded learning anywhere in the country.
The biggest structural change happened recently. The state lowered the threshold for “Tier 1” funding from 75% to 55%. That means a district now only needs 55% of its students to be low-income or English learners, rather than 75%, to qualify for the top per-student rate of $2,750. That single change pulled a lot more districts into the higher tier.
If your school sits somewhere in that 55–75% range, you may be funded more generously than you were two years ago. That’s worth a fresh look at your own numbers.
Sources:
- LAO – 2025-26 California Spending Plan
- Children Now – Follow the Money: The Expanded Learning Opportunities Program
- LAO – 2025-26 ELOP Budget
- California AfterSchool Network
What’s Changing for 2026-27
In January 2026, the Governor’s proposed budget added a $62.4 million ongoing increase, which would bring ELOP to about $4.7 billion.
That increase is aimed at Tier 2 districts. The proposal would guarantee those districts $1,800 per student, a set rate they can count on when planning their budgets. Tier 1 districts remain at $2,750 per student.
One important thing to note: this is still a proposal. California’s budget isn’t final until it clears the May Revision and the June vote, so treat the $4.7 billion and the $1,800 as likely, but not definite.
Source: California AfterSchool Network.
What You Can Spend It On
This is where a lot of directors leave value on the table. ELOP doesn’t need to only be homework help. By definition, it funds programs that develop “the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs and interests of pupils through hands-on, engaging learning experiences.”
In practice, that means both academic support and enrichment qualify, and enrichment can take many forms: the arts, physical activity, cooking, and nutrition all count.
So the engaging programming—the reason kids want to stick around past 3 p.m.—is fundable.
Cooking and nutrition workshops, music, movement, STEM, all of it can live inside your ELOP budget, as long as it fits the 9-hour, 30-summer-day structure and your staffing ratios.
Sources:
- LAO – 2025-26 ELOP Budget
- California Department of Education – Expanded Learning Opportunities Program
The Risks to Watch
A few things belong on your radar this school year.
1. Watch the spending deadline.
ELOP funds must be spent by June 30 of the year after they’re allocated, or they go back to the state, so build a plan to use them fully and early.
2. Confirm your Tier 2 rate.
If you’re a Tier 2 district, don’t assume last year’s rate holds. Confirm your current per-student figure before you commit to anything, instead of assuming last year’s number carries over.
3. Keep enrollment in mind.
Funding follows enrollment. Your allocation is based on your district’s low-income and English-learner attendance, so keeping students enrolled and in school is what protects your future dollars.
Sources:
Making Your ELOP Dollars Work Harder
Walk into a Title-1 elementary at 3:30, and the difference ELOP makes is easy to see. In one classroom, a chef instructor is handing out cutting boards while a dozen students begin to measure the flour. None of it—the ingredients, the instructor, or the doors staying open past dismissal—is free. ELOP is what pays for it.
ELOP funding is based on attendance, so the programs that fill seats do double duty: they serve your students and they help protect your funding. That’s a major reason to invest in enrichment that kids look forward to. A student who can’t wait for Thursday’s cooking class is a student who keeps showing up for school.
Hands-on culinary workshops, like the ones LIFT Enrichment runs, can be funded through ELOP. They check the health-and-nutrition enrichment box and give many kids a reason to show up.
Source: LAO – 2025-26 ELOP Budget.
What to Do Now
The federal money has ended, but California’s commitment to expanded learning is holding strong and, if the budget passes, growing.
Know your tier, confirm your rate, spend every dollar you’re allocated, and put it toward programming kids show up for.
Do that, and ELOP becomes one of the best tools you have to make after-school time count.
How LIFT Enrichment Supports ELOP
This is exactly the kind of programming LIFT Enrichment provides. The hands-on culinary workshops qualify as health-and-nutrition enrichment under ELOP, and they give students a reason to look forward to the school day with the same anticipation that keeps attendance and funding strong.
LIFT Enrichment has brought culinary workshops to 250+ schools since 2010, and we continue to grow our reach in public schools.
Bring Culinary Enrichment to Your School
Want to bring a fun culinary after-school program to your school?