Congress is working to update the 2002 No Child Left Behind education law and bring control back into the states.

On Wednesday, the House voted 359-64 to support the bill, which aims to reduce the federal role in education, include restrictions on the Secretary of Education's authority, and prevent the federal government from requiring states to adopt the Common Core curriculum. It also restores state and local control by allowing states to opt out of federal education programs, protecting states' abilities to control their own standards and assessments, and providing school districts with more funding flexibility.In addition, the bill, through extensive negotiations between the House and Senate, restores federal funding for afterschool programs like the SHINE Afterschool program in Carbon, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties that was originally cut.By restoring the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, SHINE will receive funds to cover 49 percent of its total costs."This is a banner day for the school children of northeastern Pennsylvania," said Congressman Lou Barletta, who supported the measure. "We know that SHINE has touched so many families and given kids educational opportunities they otherwise wouldn't have had. SHINE is an alternative to kids getting in trouble, or worse yet, joining gangs. I am proud to have saved the program that supports school children who need it the most."Rachel Strucko, director of the SHINE Afterschool Program, was happy to see the support in funding in the bill."By rescuing the funding for 21st Century Community Learning Center programs such as Lehigh Carbon Community College's SHINE program in Carbon, Schuylkill and now Luzerne County he (Barletta) changed thousands of children's and families' lives across not only Pennsylvania but the United States of America," Strucko said.She added that the program wouldn't be as successful as it is without the support of legislators like Barletta, state Sens. John Yudichak and David Argall and state Rep. Doyle Heffley.Currently, the SHINE Afterschool Program in Carbon and Schuylkill counties has only four of its seven centers up and running because of the budget stalemate. The centers that are operating include Panther Valley, the Carbon Career & Technical Institute Career Academy, Shenandoah and Mahanoy Area. Penn-Kidder and L.B. Morris centers in Jim Thorpe, as well as the Shull-David center in Lehighton are currently closed due to lack of state funds."We have been able to fund those three centers the past two years because of a bipartisan effort by Yudichak and Argall, who helped secure funding for the SHINE program," Strucko said. "We are hopeful that this year again after the Pennsylvania state budget is passed we will again be able to support these three centers in Jim Thorpe and Lehighton school districts.The SHINE program focuses on project-based STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) activities for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It has been working in schools in Carbon and Schuylkill counties for 11 years, and was just implemented in Luzerne this year."Preserving 21st Century Community Learning Centers as a dedicated funding stream means millions of students and families will benefit from the quality afterschool and summer learning programs that keep kids safe, inspire them to learn, and help working families," said Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance. "This is a huge and much-needed win for America's children and families."The bill now goes before the Senate, which is expected to pass it. It will then go before President Barack Obama for his signature.