TransACT's AfterSchool21 (AS21) is a software service that supports after-school programs at the state and local level in submitting compliant data for their annual performance report, 21APR. 

TransACT’s AS21 January 2022 software release includes two changes to data collection fields to support requirements for compliance with recent federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) changes. All 21st CCLC sites are required to track program activities, youth participants, program attendance, and other data. In November 2021, the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights announced two critical changes to program reporting requirements: 

• A new category of “Sex” is available to programs using AS21. This is in addition to the “Gender” category that already exists (this will allow organizations to more accurately track participants whose biological sex differs from their gender identity) 
• A new category called "Economically Disadvantaged" is available in addition to the "Lunch Status" field that already exists 

Both categories are now available to all AS21 subscribers, but administrators must turn them on in their profiles. For assistance, please contact customersuccess@transact.com Monday to Friday, from 7 am – 4 pm PT.

Changes to Reporting on Sex and Gender Identity 

The new reporting category in AS21 enables after-school programs to report accurately on changes in participation when submitting their Annual Performance Reporting (APR):   

• A new "Sex" category exists adjacent to “Gender” on the APR for the 2021-2022 reporting year and moving forward 
• The new reporting option “Not Reported in Male or Female” will be added to the current data collection categories of “Male,” “Female,” and “Data Not Provided.” 
• These reporting options are available in the AS21 drop-down menu to match federal definitions  

The U. S. Department of Education (USED) is giving guidance to state administrators about how to use the new reporting requirements. For the 2021/22 reporting period, the USED requires all youth to have their gender entered in the reporting system and the new reporting categories allow programs the option to collect information related to the sex of participants who do not fit into the previous, binary categories. 

AS21 helps after-school programs with APR reporting by automating the collection and calculation of data required for 21APR reporting and enables automated APR reporting. 

Changes in the Free or Reduced-Price Lunch / Economic Disadvantage Category 

For the 2021-2022 reporting year, the category "Students who are economically disadvantaged" replaces "Students who are eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch" on APR reporting to align with ESSA, Title I. 

• For AS21 users, when they go to a participants record, the new category “Students who are economically disadvantaged" is next to lunch status category label 

• Reporting options of "Yes - Economically Disadvantaged" and "No - Not Economically Disadvantaged" are available in the AS21 drop-down menu 
• Each state will determine their definition of "Economically Disadvantaged" 

Both the “Sex” and “Economically Disadvantaged Students” categories are now available through the quick data entry tools in AS21. If the data comes from a district Student Information System, a different electronic database or manual reports, the AS21 Customer Success team can help users report on both fields and turn them on by default.  

In addition to AS21, the new required “Sex” category also is being added to other TransACT products that are web-based and collect student information. Both Travel Tracker - Routing and Travel Tracker – Field Trips help K-12 school districts save time and money over manual processes or dated busing software. 

To learn more about how AS21 can help your 21st CCLC program submit data for the APR21, schedule a demonstration today. 

About AfterSchool21  

AfterSchool21 is used by state departments of education and OST programs across the country to support clean, accurate data for their annual performance reports, year-over-year reporting for their donors and grants, and fee management or their parent-pay features.  

AS21 supports in-person, hybrid, and virtual OST programs with the ability to collect and submit evidence of participation. Schedule a demonstration to see why AfterSchool21 is the best choice for growing after-school programs