Congressman Lou Barletta, PA-11, recently succeeded in offering an amendment to the Student Success Act to require localities to document what they are doing to implement afterschool, before-school, or summer programs for children.

Barletta's amendment encourages programs similar to SHINE, which he helped foster in his own congressional district. The amendment was adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives by unanimous voice vote."We already know afterschool programs help keep kids safe, improve academic performance, and help working families across America," Barletta said on the floor of the House. "The benefits of these programs span all aspects of our communities."Barletta said students who participate in afterschool programs have shown improvements in homework completion, class participation and attendance.He also expressed optimism that the data collected from the newly required reporting will further demonstrate the importance of afterschool programs."For example, I'm proud that SHINE is expanding from Carbon County into Luzerne County in my district," Barletta said. "This nationally recognized program offers afterschool and summer programs for kids in Pre-K through college."