The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative is a key component of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The specific purposes of the federal law are to:
- provide opportunities during non-school hours for academic enrichment, including providing tutorial services to help students, particularly students who attend low-performing schools, to meet the challenging State academic standards;
- offer students a broad array of additional services, programs and activities during non-school hours such as:
- youth development activities,
- service learning,
- nutrition and health education,
- drug and violence prevention programs,
- counseling programs,
- arts, music, physical fitness and wellness programs,
- technology education programs,
- financial literacy programs,
- environmental literacy programs,
- mathematics, science, career and technical programs,
