The proposed bill establishes the "Building Opportunity Through Out-of-School Time Program" and creates a dedicated fund to support it. The fund will be administered by the Department of Education and aims to expand out-of-school programming opportunities for students. The bill outlines the definitions of key terms, such as "eligible provider" and "out-of-school time programming," and specifies the criteria for grant eligibility. It also mandates that the department publish application processes and grant award information on its website, ensuring transparency and accessibility.

Additionally, the bill introduces a new fee structure, amending the existing reporting fee to support the fund, and appropriates $2,500,000 from the general fund to the newly created program fund. The legislation emphasizes the importance of serving under-served students and encourages community partnerships in the development of programming. Grantees will be required to maintain separate accounts for monitoring purposes and can use the funds for staffing, materials, and transportation related to the programming. The bill is set to take effect on June 30, 2026.

Statutes affected:
Introduced, 02/03/2026: 47-34A-212