Learning & Enrichment in Afterschool Programs.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 1139

Short Title: Learning & Enrichment in Afterschool Programs. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Hawkins and Baker (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
May 4, 2026
*H1139-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE LEARNING AND ENR ICHMENT IN AFTERSCHO OL 2
PROGRAMS ADVISORY COUNCIL AND GRANT PROGRAM. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1.(a) There is established in Article 3 of Chapter 115C of the General 5
Statutes the following Parts: 6
"Part 1. Department Administration. 7
"Part 2. Learning and Enrichment in Afterschool Programs (LEAP)." 8
SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 115C-18 through G.S. 115C-22 shall be located in Part 1 of 9
Article 3 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes, as established in subsection (a) of this section. 10
SECTION 2. Part 2 of Article 3 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes, as 11
established in Section 1 of this act, is amended by adding the following new sections to read: 12
"§ 115C-23.1. Definitions. 13
As used in this Part, the following definitions apply: 14
(1) Children and youth. – School-age children up to age 18. 15
(2) Eligible organizations. – Community-based organizations, statewide 16
youth-serving organizations, cities and counties delivering youth programs, 17
and schools delivering youth programs outside of school hours. 18
(3) Positive youth development programming. – Structured programs or activities 19
with engaged adult mentors and eviden ce-based or evidence -informed 20
practices provided to children and youth before school, after school, or during 21
summer. It does not include basic education programming provided during 22
school hours. 23
"§ 115C -23.2. Learning and Enrichment in Afterschool Progra ms (LEAP) Advisory 24
Council. 25
(a) The Department of Public Instruction (Department) shall establish the Learning and 26
Enrichment in Afterschool Program s (LEAP) Advisory Council to provide assistance in 27
implementing the LEAP Grant Program , as authorized under G.S. 115C-23.3. The Advisory 28
Council shall serve in an advisory capacity only and shall not have authority over final grant 29
award decisions, which shall remain with the Department. 30
(b) The Advisory Council shall include, at a minimum, the following members: 31
(1) A representative of the Department, who shall serve as chair. 32
(2) A representative of the Division of Child Development and Early Educatio n 33
of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. 34
(3) A representative of the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs. 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 1139-First Edition
(4) A representative of a community-based organization providing afterschool or 1
summer programming, appointed by the Advisory Board of the North 2
Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs. 3
(c) The Department shall convene the Advisory Council on a regular basis, as determined 4
necessary, to carry out its duties. The Department shall provide administrative support to the 5
Advisory Council. 6
(d) The Advisory Council shall advise the Department on the following: 7
(1) Grant application materials, scoring criteria, and selection processes. 8
(2) Strategies to prioritize rural and underserved communities and strengthen 9
partnerships between schools and community-based organizations. 10
(3) Program quality standards, technical assistance, and professional 11
development supports. 12
(4) Evaluation findings and improvements to program design and 13
implementation. 14
(5) Identifying opportunities to align this program with other State and local 15
initiatives, including ear ly childhood, workforce development, and student 16
support services. 17
"§ 115C-23.3. Learning and Enrichment in Afterschool Programs (LEAP) Grant Program. 18
(a) There is established under the control and direction of the State Board of Education 19
the Learning an d Enrichment in Afterschool Programs (LEAP) Fund. This fund shall be a 20
nonreverting special revenue fund consisting of any monies appropriated to it by the General 21
Assembly, eligible federal funds, eligible grant funds, and private donations. Any funds received 22
by the State pursuant to litigation against social media companies for harm caused to children 23
and youth, whether the result of a settlement or court award, shall be directed to the LEAP Fund. 24
LEAP Funds shall be distributed through a grant program in accordance with this section. 25
(b) The Department of Public Instruction (Department) shall establish the Learning and 26
Enrichment in Afterschool Programs (LEAP) Grant Program (Program) to assist eligible 27
organizations in providing high-quality positive youth development programming across the 28
State. To the extent funds are made available for th is purpose, the Department shall administer 29
the Program in accordance with this section. 30
(c) The Department, in cons ultation with the LEAP Advisory Council, as est ablished 31
under G.S. 115C-23.2, shall develop and publish the following: 32
(1) An application and application time line. 33
(2) Technical assistance guides for completing the application . The Department 34
shall also offer further technical assistance for the application process to 35
first-time applicants and applicants that serve rural or underserved 36
communities. 37
(3) An awardee selection time line and selection criteria. The selection criteria 38
shall aim to ensure equitable distribution of funding across the State by 39
considering the following in evaluating applicants: 40
a. The extent to which an eligible organization 's positive youth 41
development programming reflects the needs of the local community. 42
b. Whether the eligible organization serves children and youth in rural, 43
underserved, or economically distressed communities. 44
c. The eligible organization's demonstrated experience serving children, 45
youth, and families. 46
d. Any existing relationships the eligible organization maintains, as 47
evidenced through memoranda of understanding or similar 48
agreements. 49
e. The demonstrated need of the community to be served. 50
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 1139-First Edition Page 3
f. The eligible organization 's organizational capacity to implement and 1
sustain positive youth development programming, including staffing, 2
financial management, and partnership infrastructure. 3
(4) Grant terms and amounts. The Department may offer different terms and 4
amounts for different grants, so long as no grant awards funding for more than 5
two years per grant. 6
(5) Grant renewal criteria. Grants shall be continually renewable, contingent upon 7
meeting renewal criteria and availability of funds. The Department shall 8
determine the criteria that must be met to renew a grant. At a minimum , the 9
renewal criteria shall include compliance with Program requirements and 10
evaluation benchmarks based on the prog ramming evaluation metrics 11
developed under subdivision (6) of this subsection. 12
(6) Programming evaluation metrics. An evaluation of the effectiveness of a 13
positive youth development program shall include at least the following: 14
a. Attendance and participation rates. 15
b. Development outcomes , including academics, skills, 16
career-awareness, and workforce readiness. 17
c. Community and family engagement. 18
d. Program reach, including the number of Program sites and number of 19
children and youth served. 20
(d) Awards received by eligible organizations shall supplement and not supplant any 21
existing funds used for positive youth development programming. 22
(e) The Department may retain up to ten percent (10%) of funds appropriated for the 23
Program for administrative costs and support activities, including any of the following: 24
(1) Hiring or contracting for a full-time equivalent (FTE) position to administer 25
and oversee the Program. 26
(2) Developing and disseminating program ming quality standards, performance 27
measures, and evaluation tools to ensure accountability and continuous 28
improvement. 29
(3) Providing training, technical assistance, and professional development to 30
eligible organizations. 31
(4) Advising eligible organizations on the implementation of evidence -based 32
practices. 33
(5) Contracting with the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs to 34
coordinate statewide system -building efforts, conduct research, delive r 35
professional development, or provide technical assistance to eligible 36
organizations. 37
(f) The Department may partner with academic institutions, nonprofit technical 38
assistance providers, and other relevant organizations , such as the North Carolina Center for 39
Afterschool Programs, to deliver the services required under this section , including for 40
programming evaluation." 41
SECTION 3. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 42
Public Instruction the sum of nineteen million five hundred thousand dollars ($19,500,000) in 43
nonrecurring funds for the 2026-2027 fiscal year for the Department to establish the LEAP Fund 44
and LEAP Grant Program, as enacted by this act. 45
SECTION 4. This act becomes effective July 1, 2026. 46