Program Planning & Development

Overview

Program Planning & Development

The Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P) requires the development of a program plan by each  Local Educational Agency (LEA) that receives an ELO-P apportionment. The program plan needs to be approved by the LEA’s Governing Board in a public meeting and posted on the LEA’s website. 

The California Department of Education Expanded Learning Division (EXLD) has released a ​revised and improved ELO-P Plan Guide* to support LEAs to create their own Program Plans.

ACCESS THE PROGRAM PLAN GUIDE

Important things to know about the Program Plan:

  • Due Date: All LEAs currently operating an ELO-P should have a program plan in place. ​It is the CDE’s guidance that LEAs who receive ELO-P Funding for the first time must adopt a program plan within six months of the first apportionment of funding.
  • Living Document: The program plan template guide is considered a living document that is periodically reviewed and adjusted to reflect the needs of the community, updates in the law, and to provide continuous improvement in the development of an effective ELO-P.
  • Timing:  The ELO-P Plan needs to be completed every three years pursuant to the requirements in California Education Code (EC) Section 46120.
  • Collaboration: Local educational agencies (LEAs) are encouraged to work collaboratively with partners and staff to develop and review the program plan. The LEA is responsible for the plan and the oversight of any community partners or subcontractors.
  • Quality Standards: The program plan is structured around the Quality Standards for Expanded Learning in California. The program plan requires a narrative response to 11 of the 12 Quality Standards.

 

Questions about the program plan should be directed to the EXLD at expandedlearning@cde.ca.gov.

*This Program Plan Template Guide is required by California Education Code (EC) Section 46120(b)(2)

Post

Attendance Recovery Resources
August 2025

Struggling to make sense of California's new Attendance Recovery Policy?

School districts statewide are preparing to implement California’s new Attendance Recovery policy, which helps LEAs recover lost ADA funding and learning by offering extra academic support outside school hours. Attendance Recovery programs are optional and can be offered in conjunction with ELO-P to realize fiscal efficiencies and expand student access to ELO-P. Below are a few resources to support the development and implementation of these programs.

Pod
Two students looking up with constellation graphics around them

Field Guide: Creating Integrated, School-Based Systems of Care

CAN is a proud contributor to WestEd’s newly released guide - Supporting California’s Children Through a Whole Child Approach: A Field Guide for Creating Integrated, School-Based Systems of Care.

This field guide is a first step by a collaborative of California child-serving education, health, and social service experts and leaders to further California’s current efforts toward one effective, integrated, comprehensive, school-based child-serving system. The guide includes guidance for both local education agencies (LEAs) and state leaders, with details and implementation guidance on a wide variety of cross-sector initiatives to support the whole child.