NSLA believes that the federal government has an important role to play in supporting policies that foster safe, enriching, and high-quality summer programs for all children. The summer gap remains one of the most significant drivers of educational and economic inequity in the United States. While some students spend their summers in enriched environments that build social capital and academic achievement, millions of others face a season of diminished opportunity, characterized by food insecurity, social isolation, and a loss of academic momentum. This disparity is not an inevitability; it is the result of policy choices and federal disinvestments in our communities.
As we look toward the future of the American workforce and the well-being of our children and families, federal investments in summer learning must transition from temporary, emergency responses to meaningful, reliable, and predictable investments in our communities. The policy positions outlined in this document represent a comprehensive policy framework that advances our vision for Summer for All.
Policy Position Statements
Federal Policy Updates
As the national leader on summer learning and its role in education reform, NSLA tracks and responds to policy issues that affect summer opportunities at the federal, state, and local levels, with the goal of ensuring high-quality summer learning opportunities reach as many children and youth as possible, especially those most in need.
Working hand-in-hand with coalition partners, policymakers, and local advocates, NSLA provides expertise, tools and resources on a number of policy issues that include 21st Century Community Learning Centers, summer meals, community service and service learning, STEM education, and funding opportunities for summer programs. NSLA’s policy priorities focus on sustainability of summer initiatives, fostering partnerships, and improving quality for programs serving youth from pre-kindergarten through higher education and into the workforce.
View Federal Policy Updates
- April 3, 2026: POTUS FY27 Education Budget Proposal, Eliminates 21 CCLC6
- January 20, 2026: Congress Finalizes FY26 Federal Funding, Rejects Trump Cuts
- December 3, 2025: Administration Announces Interagency Agreements
- October 16, 2025
- October 1, 2025: Government Shutdown, Congress Fails to Advance FY26 Funding
- September 8, 2025: House and Senate Advance FY26 Education Funding Bills
- July 17, 2025: Billions of Education Funds Frozen, NSLA Joins 600 Orgs Calling for Release
- June 5, 2025: POTUS FY26 Education Budget Proposal, Eliminates 21 CCLC
- April 25, 2025: Congress Moves Reconciliation Forward, Trump Issues Executive Orders
- March 25, 2025: NSLA Statement on Trump’s Executive Order to Shutter ED & IMLS
- March 10, 2025: Mass Firings at Department of Education, Trump Announces RIFs
- February 13, 2025: Linda McMahon Testifies Before Senate HELP Committee
- January 26, 2025: Trump Administration Halts all Federal Grants
Research
Since its inception, NSLA has led a national movement to increase and promote the knowledge base about effective summer learning approaches. NSLA partners with researchers around the country to investigate the disparities faced by low-income youth during the summer months, the effects of these disparities, and the solutions that reverse summer learning loss. NSLA develops ideas and resources for the summer learning research community, fosters collaboration between researchers, communities, and practitioners in the field; and promotes new knowledge to education stakeholders.
Gallup Poll on What District Leaders Say About Learning Beyond the School Year
Wallace Foundation Podcast: Lessons from Rural Communities: How Two Districts Are Reinventing Summer Learning
Summer for All Act
Newly introduced federal legislation, the Summer for All Act, sponsored by US Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), aims to help provide high-quality summer enrichment opportunities to all kids and families and especially those who could not afford or access these programs otherwise.
For millions of kids, summer is marked by camps and other enrichment activities that help them reset mentally, socially, and emotionally and prepare for success at school in the fall. But too many kids and their families get left behind as many high-quality summer programs either do not have enough slots or are cost prohibitive. These kids not only miss out on the experiences their peers have, but after spending months with little support or resources, they are often worse off by the time it’s back-to-school. Summers are a formative time in a child’s development, and federal support is urgently needed to help ensure every kid has a fun and fulfilling summer – not just the ones who can afford it.
A nationally representative poll by Gallup in partnership with the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) and the American Camp Association (ACA) found that 30 million youth are engaged in summer opportunities. This represents 55% of K-12 youth in schools. NSLA and ACA call for a national effort to maintain and increase this baseline, but critical barriers such as cost remain for many families.
The Summer for All Act, recently introduced by Senator Murphy (D-CT), would provide long-term, direct funding to help kids and families access high-quality summer programs and activities. Specifically, the Summer for All Act would authorize $4 billion over four years and $1 billion each fiscal year thereafter to fund two new competitive grant programs to expand access to summer enrichment programs, and authorize an additional reservation of funds to conduct data collection and analysis on the impact of these programs and how to improve summer
Summer for All Fact Sheet
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Advocacy Tools
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About NSLA
The National Summer Learning Association works to ensure all of America’s students, regardless of background, income, or zip code, can access and benefit from a high-quality summer learning experience every year.
As the national leader on summer learning and its role in education reform, NSLA tracks and responds to policy issues that affect summer learning at the federal, state, and local levels. Working hand-in-hand with coalition partners, policymakers, and local advocates, NSLA provides expertise, tools and resources on a number of policy issues that include 21st Century Community Learning Centers, summer meals, community service and service learning, STEM education, and funding opportunities for summer programs.
NSLA’s policy priorities focus on maximizing available resources through partnerships and improved efficiencies, sustainability of summer initiatives, and improved use of data to target summer opportunities to the youth most in need. Stay connected to NSLA and sign-up for our newsletter here!
As the national leader on summer learning and its role in education reform, NSLA tracks and responds to policy issues that affect summer opportunities at the federal, state, and local levels, with the goal of ensuring high-quality summer learning opportunities reach as many children and youth as possible, especially those most in need.
NSLA believes that the federal government has an important role to play in supporting policies that foster safe, enriching, and high-quality summer programs for all children. The summer gap remains one of the most significant drivers of educational and economic inequity in the United States. While some students spend their summers in enriched environments that build social capital and academic achievement, millions of others face a season of diminished opportunity, characterized by food insecurity, social isolation, and a loss of academic momentum. This disparity is not an inevitability; it is the result of policy choices and federal disinvestments in our communities.
As we look toward the future of the American workforce and the well-being of our children and families, federal investments in summer learning must transition from temporary, emergency responses to meaningful, reliable, and predictable investments in our communities. The policy positions outlined in this document represent a comprehensive policy framework that advances our vision for Summer for All.
Policy Position Statements
1. Support youth academic enrichment, engaging activities, and an opportunity to build life skills.
NSLA believes that summer is a premier window for whole-child development. Every child deserves access to summer environments that pair rigorous, engaging academic enrichment with the intentional cultivation of resilience, self-regulation, and collaboration. By integrating these domains, we move beyond simple remediation and toward a model of summer learning that empowers students to return to school more confident, connected, and academically prepared.
- Opportunity gaps: While 67% of upper-income children participated in organized summer opportunities in 2023, only 38% of low-income students (10 million out of 25 million) accessed similar programs, leaving a significant portion of the population without structured enrichment.
- Academic acceleration: A 2024-2025 national study found that over 50% of middle and high school students reported feeling more prepared and confident for the upcoming semester after participating in summer enrichment that included field trips, STEM, and outdoor exploration (Afterschool Alliance, 2025).
- High engagement: Research from the RAND Corporation highlights that students with “high attendance” (20+ days) in holistic summer programs outperform their peers not only in math and reading but also in social-emotional outcomes, suggesting that consistent engagement in a supportive environment is a primary catalyst for growth (RAND, 2025).
- Well-being: With youth anxiety and depression rising, 2025 surveys show that 91% of school superintendents now view summer learning programs as “essential” for achieving district goals—specifically citing their role in fostering belonging and providing a “non-clinical” mental health intervention through peer and mentor relationships (NSLA/AASA Survey, 2025).
- Return on investment: Analysis of evidence-based social-emotional programs demonstrates that for every $1 invested, there is an $11 return to the community through improved lifetime earnings, better health outcomes, and reduced juvenile crime.
NSLA Supports Policies That:
- Fund Enriching Summer Programs: Support federal and state grant programs, such as the Summer for All Act, that provide dedicated funding for summer programs integrating academic instruction and soft skills curricula.
- Modernize Accountability Metrics: Encourage the adoption of assessment tools that measure social-emotional growth (e.g., self-efficacy, social awareness) alongside traditional academic benchmarks to provide a more complete picture of program impact.
- Expand Professional Development: Invest in training for the summer workforce to ensure educators and community providers can effectively implement trauma-informed practices and active learning strategies that foster student agency.
- Incentivize Cross-Sector Partnerships: Promote policies that encourage school districts to partner with community-based organizations (CBOs), libraries, and museums to bring academic enrichment into non-traditional, highly engaging settings.
- Prioritize High-Quality Standards: High-quality summer learning programs are achieved by integrating targeted academic enrichment with social-emotional support led by trained staff. Key standards include 5-6 week durations, small class sizes, safe environments, and nutritious food, with a focus on active, collaborative learning and clear, measurable goals.
2. Foster safe, healthy, supportive, and drug-free environments.
Foster safe, healthy, supportive, and drug-free environments.
NSLA believes that cultivating a secure and healthy environment is essential for the well-being of children and that their success is inextricably linked to the quality of their surroundings. For a child to thrive academically and socially, they must first feel secure in their environment. We believe that summer programs serve as a vital protective factor, providing a supervised sanctuary that shields youth from neighborhood violence, substance misuse, and environmental hazards. A safe, healthy, and drug-free summer is not a luxury; it is a fundamental right that ensures every student returns to school ready to succeed.
- The Safety Gap: During the summer months, youth experience a significant decrease in adult supervision; research indicates that the risk of social-emotional distress and engagement in risky behaviors, including substance use, increases when school-based supports are absent.
- Substance Use Prevention: High-quality summer programming acts as a deterrent to early-onset drug and alcohol use; students who are engaged in prosocial, supervised summer activities are significantly less likely to experiment with illicit substances compared to their unsupervised peers.
- Physical Health and Safety: Exposure to community violence often rises when children are out of school; structured programs provide a controlled, climate-resilient environment that reduces these physical risks.
- The Impact of Trauma: Students living in high-poverty areas are more likely to encounter adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) during the summer break; trauma-informed summer environments are proven to mitigate the long-term academic and health impacts of these experiences.
NSLA Supports Policies That:
- Invest in Safe Passage and Security: Provide funding for facility enhancements and community partnerships that ensure students can travel to and from summer sites safely and learn in modernized, secure buildings.
- Embed Substance Misuse Prevention: Support the integration of evidence-based drug and alcohol prevention curricula within summer enrichment programs, focusing on peer-refusal skills and healthy decision-making.
- Promote Trauma-Informed Care: Increase federal and state support for professional development that trains summer staff to recognize signs of trauma and provide supportive, healing-centered environments for at-risk youth.
- Enhance Mental Health Integration: Incentivize collaborations between summer providers and local health departments to offer on-site mental health screenings and drug-free lifestyle workshops.
- Expand Resource Access in Deserts: Prioritize grant funding for summer programs located in safety deserts neighborhoods with high rates of crime or limited access to public parks and recreation centers.
3. Support a healthy, active lifestyle, including nutritional education and regular, structured physical education activities and programs, that help maintain the mental and physical well-being of youth.
NSLA believes that a child’s potential for achievement is inseparable from their physical and mental
health. We advocate for summer programs that treat regular physical activity and nutritional education
not as extras, but as fundamental pillars of a child’s overall development. When children are active and
well-nourished, they are better equipped to learn, manage stress, and build the resilience needed for a
productive school year. Summer should be a season of movement and health, ensuring that the
progress made during the school year is not undermined by sedentary behavior or poor nutrition.
● The Health Gap: Research shows that children, particularly those from low-income families,
gain weight at a faster rate during the summer break than during the school year, largely due to
a lack of structured physical activity and increased access to energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods.
● Decline in Fitness: During the long summer holidays, many children experience a significant
decline in cardiovascular fitness and an increase in sedentary behaviors, such as excessive
screen time, which can lead to social isolation and emotional instability.
● Mental Health Connection: Regular physical activity is a proven mood enhancer; it releases
endorphins and reduces cortisol levels, helping adolescents manage the stress, anxiety, and
boredom that can peak during unstructured summer months.
● Academic Synergy: Physical health and academic performance are deeply linked.
Evidence-based studies show that even 90 minutes of weekly physical activity is associated with
improved concentration, memory, and problem-solving skills.
NSLA Supports Policies That:
● Encourage Physical Activity Standards: Prioritize funding for summer learning programs that
include at least some daily structured physical activity that is inclusive and developmentally
appropriate.
● Integrate Nutritional Education: Support the inclusion of hands-on nutritional literacy—such as
gardening, healthy cooking classes, and food source education—as a core component of
summer enrichment curricula.
● Incentivize Shared Use Agreements: Promote policies that allow summer programs to utilize
under-used school and community facilities, such as gyms, tracks, and kitchens, to ensure all
children have safe spaces to be active.
● Fund Holistic Wellness Staffing: Provide grants for summer programs to hire or partner with
fitness instructors, nutritionists, and mental health professionals to create a comprehensive
support network for participating youth.
● Scale Evidence-Based Health Models: Invest in the expansion of programs that have proven
success integrating academic programming with physical activities, team sports, outdoor
education, or wellness coaching
4. Promote volunteerism, community involvement, or service-learning, in which students use academic and civic knowledge and skills to address genuine community needs
NSLA believes that summer is a vital time for young people to transition from being students of the
world to active contributors within it. We believe that service-learning—the intentional integration of
academic skills with community service—is one of the most effective ways to foster civic responsibility,
empathy, and agency. By addressing genuine community needs during the summer months, students
see the real-world application of their learning, transforming summer break into a season of purpose,
leadership, and community connection.
● Academic Application: Research indicates that students who participate in high-quality
service-learning programs demonstrate increased academic engagement and a deeper
understanding of complex social issues compared to peers in traditional classroom settings.
● The Civic Gap: While civic engagement is a predictor of future professional success and adult
voting behavior, access to structured volunteer opportunities is often limited for youth in
low-income communities, creating a civic opportunity gap during the summer months (Hart &
Atkins, 2002; CIRCLE, 2022).
● Social-Emotional Growth: Service-learning is a proven catalyst for social-emotional
development; participants show significant gains in self-efficacy, social sensitivity, and the ability
to work collaboratively across diverse backgrounds.
● Community Impact: Summer service-learning programs provide thousands of hours of essential
labor to local non-profits, environmental initiatives, and social services, creating a symbiotic
relationship where the community gains support and the student gains invaluable experience.
NSLA Supports Policies That:
● Incentivize Service-Learning Models: Provide federal and state grants for summer programs
that adopt a Service-Learning Framework, requiring students to research, plan, and execute
projects that address specific local needs.
● Award Academic Credit for Service: Support policies that allow middle and high school students
to earn elective or “work-based learning” credits toward graduation through documented
summer service and reflection.
● Fund Service-to-Career Pathways: Increase investment in programs that link volunteerism with
career exploration, specifically those that provide stipends for low-income youth to participate
in community-based internships.
● Lower Barriers to Participation: Support funding for transportation and insurance coverage for
community-based organizations, ensuring that all youth—regardless of socioeconomic
status—can safely access volunteer sites.
● Expand National Service Partnerships: Encourage formal partnerships between local summer
learning providers and national service organizations (such as AmeriCorps) to provide
mentorship and structure for youth-led community projects.