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,