Many L.A. students don’t head home when the final school bell of the day rings. Instead, they head to an aftercare program on campus or elsewhere in the community.
Finding a program can be simple, or tricky, depending on your location and family’s needs. This guide unpacks what options are available in Los Angeles Unified and how to access them as part of our ongoing series, School Game Plan.
We’ll also get into some of the challenges. For example, there’s a huge unmet need for after-school programs in Los Angeles. A survey from a national nonprofit estimated the families of about 345,000 L.A. kids who want a program can’t access one.
About this guide
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First, some vocabulary
Before and after-school is a broad term that refers to programs that care for children outside of the school day.
Another term some people use is expanded learning or enrichment program.
And in Los Angeles Unified, all of these programs are housed in a department called Beyond the Bell. Within Beyond the Bell there are several different types of after-school programs.
What after-school programs are available in LAUSD?
The district offers a free after-school program at more than 700 elementary, middle and high schools until 6 p.m. They often have different names, however, so don’t let that confuse you.
There are two types of free after-school programs in the district.
Some are run by the LAUSD directly, including:
And the 24 programs run by partner, non-LAUSD, organizations. Those include:
How do I find out if my school offers either of these?
Check out:
Why doesn’t the district just run all of the programs?
More than 160,000 students attended LAUSD before and after-school programs in the 2025-2026 school year," said Ana Estevez, executive director of Beyond the Bell.
“We do not have the infrastructure to offer programming at all 710 schools,” Estevez said. “So we bring in our community partners to help support and enrich our programming.”
There are also privately run programs that operate on district property and at other locations.
One place to explore those options is Expand LA’s website, which organizes programs by location and focus, for example, arts, sports and academics.
Hear it from a parent: Finding the right fit
Ramona Monteros’ youngest son is in third grade at a North Hollywood elementary school. The campus offers a free afterschool program, but she opted to sign him up for one provided by another nonprofit on campus that she found out about through other parents. She said the lower adult-to-student ratio and structure were a good fit for her child. The only downside is that it costs about $500 a month.
“ It's a small enough program that he's making friends with kids who are also younger and older than him,” she said. “I think it's good for him to have a bigger social circle that way.”
What before-school programs are available in LAUSD?
There are 203 early programs which offer care starting around 6:30 a.m.
How much does care cost?
LAUSD’s after-school programs are free to families, Estevez said.
You can compare that to the average weekly cost for a private after-school program in L.A., which is $114, according to Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit that researches and advocates for after-school programs.
How do I sign up my child?
First, fill out an application. You can find one:
Then submit the application to your school’s Beyond the Bell site coordinator.
Most enrollment typically takes place in the first couple weeks before the start of the new school year, but families can sign up anytime.
What happens when my child’s school hits capacity?
There is typically one adult for every 20 children in an LAUSD after-school program with the exception of transitional kindergarten, or TK, which requires a ratio of one adult for every 10 kids.
“When a school has reached its capacity based on the existing staffing, we work very closely with them to make sure that the demand is met as quickly as possible,” Estevez said.
Staffing has been a challenge across Southern California afterschool programs in recent years.
Providers have told LAist in the past that it’s often difficult to pay staff a competitive wage for part-time hours.
What will my child learn in their after-school program?
Estevez said providing academic support is one of the district’s main priorities for its after-school programs.
That can range from homework help from a program staffer or “high-dose” tutoring from a teacher or other educator at the school.
Estevez said the after-school program leaders collaborate with principals to make sure what students learn complements, but doesn’t repeat their school day.
“We don't want students to sit for six hours during regular instruction and then have to sit for another three and a half hours for more instruction,” Estevez said. “They don't wanna do that. They wanna have fun.”
Are after-school programs fun?
Estevez said after-schools programs also have opportunities for:
- Enrichment, including arts, robotics, and other science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities
- Recreation, such as sports.
“ We want to know, um, what [students’] interests are, what their needs are, so that we can tailor programming around something that they will find engaging and that they'll wanna come back,” Estevez said.
Last year, the district launched a program where students can learn to play chess and then compete against other schools.
"Kids should be in after-school programs because this is where they get some of the more fun, enrichment opportunities that don't happen during the school day,” said Lou Calanche, who leads Expand LA.
Hear it from a parent: After-school program mended a “patchwork” of care
Johanna Lizarrga said she relied on a “patchwork” of support from family to watch her kids while she and her husband worked. She also said she paid about $700 a month for her kids to attend a child care center once a week.
After California started a new funding program for after-school care in 2021, her children were able to get a spot in a program run by a local nonprofit on their elementary school campus. Lizarraga said the program offers a meal, homework help and opportunities to play.
“It allows me to work, it allows me to know that my kids are in a safe place, and it's right there where they go to school,” she said. “I don't even have to worry about transportation for them.”
Can my child leave early?
Estevez said families can pick up their child anytime between the end of school and 6 p.m.
Students in 4th through 8th grade can also sign themselves out of a program, with parent permission.
Who pays for LAUSD’s after-school programs?
LAUSD, like other districts, relies on both federal and state dollars to fund its after-school programs.
“We braid or multi-fund those dollars to ensure that we offer programming for as many students as possible,” Estevez said.
In 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom, with the support of the legislature, created a new initiative called the Expanded Learning Opportunities program, or ELOP, pronounced EEE-lop.
The $4.6 billion-a-year program now provides the vast majority of funding for districts’ after-school programs.
Still, nationwide many after-school providers say they’re worried about federal cuts to their programs. The first Trump administration threatened to eliminate federal funding for after-school programs, and in 2025, the administration temporarily withheld $7 billion in education funding, including for after-school programs.
