Agenda for
California’s Youth
2026
Legislative & Policy Priorities
OUT OF SCHOOL TIME: SUPPORT FUNDING FOR CALIFORNIA’S PUBLIC AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS (ASES and ELO-P)
Background:
- In 2021, California committed to offering free afterschool programs to all TK-6 grade youth who are low-income, English language learners, or in foster care.
- Two state-funded programs, ASES (Afterschool Education and Safety) and ELO-P (Expanded Learning Opportunities Program) allow hundreds of thousands of young people to be in a safe, constructive environment while their caregivers work.
Request: Support the January 2026 state budget proposal to increase ELO-P funding by $62.4M. This would guarantee that school districts receiving “Tier 2” reimbursements would receive a minimum of $1800 per child per year from the state, thus ensuring that all youth receive strong afterschool/summer programming and support.
HEALTH & WELLNESS: PROTECT YOUTH FROM SOCIAL MEDIA HARM
Background:
- While social media use can have both positive and negative effects on youth, several class action lawsuits are pending against social media companies that are alleged to have knowingly harmed young people; including one co-led by CA’s AG.
Request: Amend legislation that requires social media companies to pay taxes/fees/settlement funds for harm done to youth, to ensure that it funds grants to non-profit afterschool programs. For example, the following draft legislation could be amended to collect non-compliance fines and fund afterschool programs: AB 02 (Lowenthal/Patterson), AB 1709 (Lowenthal/Patterson), AB 2246 (Wicks), AB 2023 (Wicks), and AB 2426 (Wallis). In particular, amendments could focus on funding teen afterschool programs–which receive less state funding than TK-6 grade programs—to address the growing incidence of poor mental health and social isolation among CA’s teens.