AB 126 and Expanded Learning: What Changes for ELOP, ASES, and 21st CCLC Programs

Part 2 of a 3-Part AB 126 Series

Part 1: What Is AB 126?

Part 2: AB 126 and Expanded Learning (you are here)

Part 3: Your AB 126 Checklist

AB 126 doesn’t merge community schools with expanded learning. But it builds real, statutory connections between them that will change how your programs operate. If you coordinate ELOP, ASES, or 21st CCLC at a community school site, here are the three things you need to understand.

1. ASES Selection Priorities Now Favor Community Schools

AB 126 changes who gets priority for ASES (After School Education and Safety Program) grants.

For schools below the 50% free or reduced-price meal threshold, CDE (the California Department of Education) must now prioritize two new factors when awarding ASES grants (Ed. Code § 8483.3(b)):

• Schools that are not already receiving ELOP (Expanded Learning Opportunities Program) funds (Ed. Code § 8483.3(b)(1)).
• Schools participating in the California Community Schools Partnership Act (Ed. Code § 8483.3(b)(2)).

This isn’t a suggestion. It’s a statutory selection criterion. If your school is a community school site and you apply for ASES, you now have priority in the selection process.

What this means for you: If you’re an expanded learning coordinator at a community school site that doesn’t have ASES funding yet, your application just got stronger. If you already have ASES, this doesn’t change your current grant. But it does mean more community school sites will be competing for the same pool.

2. 21st CCLC Has a New Community Schools Allocation Pathway

This one is a bigger structural change.

AB 126 requires that up to 40% of the total federal 21st CCLC (21st Century Community Learning Centers) appropriation, after technical assistance set-asides, be allocated on a priority basis to community learning centers that serve elementary and middle school students and receive community schools funding (Ed. Code § 8484.8(e)(1)).

Within that 40%, priority goes to applicants running expanded learning programs at sites that don’t receive ELOP funds (Ed. Code § 8484.8(e)(3)(B)).

What this means for you: If your site is a community school and you’re applying for 21st CCLC, you’re now in a priority lane for up to 40% of the federal allocation. That’s a significant carve-out. It doesn’t mean community school sites automatically get funded. But the deck is tilted in your favor.

3. Non-Supplanting Rules Are Spelled Out

The Legislature made the money rules explicit. AB 126 installs non-supplanting language in three places:

• Community schools funds cannot replace ELOP, LCFF (Local Control Funding Formula), or Literacy Coaches funding (Ed. Code § 8903(b)(3)).
• ASES funds cannot replace ELOP funding. But ASES grantees can use their funds to provide services that go beyond ELOP minimums, like serving more kids, extending hours, or improving program quality (Ed. Code § 8482.3(f)(9)).
• 21st CCLC funds carry the same non-supplanting rule relative to ELOP (Ed. Code § 8484.8(e)(8)).

What this means for you: You can’t use community schools money to cover what ELOP already pays for. And you can’t use ASES or 21st CCLC money to backfill ELOP costs. Each dollar stays in its lane. But you can layer these funding streams to do more at the same site, as long as each stream pays for its own allowable costs.

In practice, this means careful cost tracking. If you run an afterschool program at a community school site with ELOP, ASES, and community schools funding, you need to show which dollars paid for which activities. That’s not new for anyone who’s braided funding before. But now it’s in statute.

What Doesn’t Change

Let’s be clear about what AB 126 does not do:

• Programs stay separate. ELOP is still ELOP. ASES still follows ASES rules. 21st CCLC is still federal money with federal requirements.
• Funding stays separate. No merging of pots. No combined apportionments. Each program sends its own check.
• Reporting stays separate. Each program still has its own accountability and audit requirements.

What changes is the expectation. California now expects districts to plan across these programs, not treat them as isolated silos. The statute requires community school implementation plans to describe how the district braids funds from programs including ELOP (Ed. Code § 8903(e)(2)(C)(iv)). Districts can even submit their ELOP and ASES plans as part of their community school plan (Ed. Code § 8903(e)(2)(E)). That’s a streamlining option, not a requirement. But it signals where things are headed.

County offices of education are also directed to help districts integrate across community schools, expanded learning, early childhood, and behavioral health (Ed. Code § 8903(d)(3)(A)). And ELOP technical assistance funding for counties must now coordinate with community schools support (Ed. Code § 46120(d)(8)(A)(ii)).

The Practical Takeaway

If you’re an expanded learning coordinator, you need to be in the room for community schools conversations. Not as a nice-to-have. Because the statute now connects your programs at three specific points: ASES selection, 21st CCLC allocation, and cost tracking rules.

The funding stays separate. The programs stay separate. But the planning and coordination don’t. That’s the shift.

In the next post, we’ll give you the specific actions to take before November 1.

Sources

1. AB 126 (2025-2026), Chapter 65, Education finance: education omnibus trailer bill. Approved by Governor July 9, 2026. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB126

2. California Education Code § 8483.3, ASES selection priorities. As amended by AB 126 § 14.

3. California Education Code § 8484.8, 21st Century Community Learning Centers. As amended by AB 126 § 15.

4. California Education Code § 8903, California Community Schools Partnership Program (ongoing apportionments). Added by AB 126 § 19.

5. California Education Code § 8482.3, After School Education and Safety Program. As amended by AB 126 § 12.

6. California Education Code § 46120, Expanded Learning Opportunities Program. As amended by AB 126 § 84.