New bill aims to expand after-school programs

Kansas Congresswoman Sharice Davids has introduced legislation aimed at expanding afterschool programs — but the people who run those programs say it won’t address their biggest challenge.

Rep. Sharice Davids’ Afterschool ACCESS Act would give tax breaks to property owners who donate space or transportation to afterschool programs. The bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, is designed to reduce barriers that prevent working parents from enrolling their children in after-school care.

But local program leaders say their main problem isn’t space — it’s finding staff and keeping costs affordable for families.

The need is real

According to the America After 3PM 2025 report from the Afterschool Alliance, 232,000 Kansas children have parents who want them in afterschool programs. But 171,943 of those kids—roughly 75%—can’t get in.

At Emerson Elementary School in Kansas City, Kansas, the district’s KidZone program offers homework help, snacks, and activities after school. For working parents like Christina Ojaeda, it’s essential.

“It means the world for our family that we have this at our school,” Ojaeda said.

But not everyone can get in. Gina Knapp, who works with YMCA afterschool programs, said they have roughly 400 kids on the waitlist currently.

“That’s mostly because it’s hard to find staff for programs,” Knapp said.

Mechelle Wortham, who coordinates before and after-school programs for USD 500, said the barriers are the same for the school district’s programs.

“Staffing and funding. Those are the two biggest,” Wortham said.

What the bill does

The Afterschool ACCESS Act would amend the tax code to allow charitable deductions for property owners who donate the use of real property, vehicles, or equipment to community learning centers. Under current law, donors can only deduct the value of property they give away permanently, not the use of property they allow programs to use temporarily.

The bill aims to incentivize public-private partnerships by making it financially beneficial for churches, businesses, and other property owners to donate space or transportation to after-school programs.

Davids acknowledged the bill addresses only part of the problem.

“We need to increase space availability and we need to make it more affordable,” Davids said during a visit to Emerson Elementary on Wednesday.

When asked what she hears is the main barrier facing families, Davids said affordability is at the top of the list.

“From everything that I’ve heard from child care providers, from teachers, from parents, from community members, it’s that there’s a lot of people facing a cost barrier,” she said.

The bill addresses space availability, but not affordability. Davids said she’s also working on legislation that addresses cost issues, but she’s looking for solutions that can get bipartisan support in a narrowly divided Congress where Republicans hold a 218-213 majority.

“We’ve been in this childcare deficit for a long time and we’ve really got to start thinking outside the box to solve these issues,” Davids said.

The push for new approaches comes as federal afterschool funding faces an uncertain future. The Trump administration has proposed eliminating 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding in its FY2026 budget. That program currently provides $8.7 million to Kansas, serving more than 9,200 children in 124 programs statewide.

Davids’s bill takes a different approach—using tax incentives rather than direct federal spending, which may have broader appeal in a Republican-controlled House.

Will it help?

For school-based programs like the one at Emerson Elementary, donated space may not solve the immediate problem. The district already uses school facilities and has its own transportation system. What they lack is funding to hire enough staff to meet state licensing requirements for staff-to-student ratios.

But Davids contends the bill could help create alternatives for families who are turned away from school-based programs due to capacity limits.

“Some of the cost barriers that exist are in part because there are so few spaces available,” Davids said. “Parents are struggling to find space.”

The bill has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. Kansas Republican members of Congress—Reps. Sam Graves, Jake LaTurner, and Ron Estes—did not respond to requests for comment on the legislation.