Impact Aid Lunch & Learn Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Impact Aid But Were Afraid to Ask
The Beginning In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, the issue of Federal impaction came before Congress. Inadequate support had led to severe conflicts, resulting in refusals by some districts to educate Federally connected children. Some even attempted to charge tuition. This led the House Education and Labor Committee to initiate a study. The committee held hearings and conducted field investigations in more than 42 states, representing nearly 75 percent of all Federally connected school districts. The initial Federal impact on school systems was felt in the mid-western states of Kansas and Oklahoma. Both hosted large numbers of troops during WWII. When these troops returned, military installation populations grew almost overnight. Local school districts soon found themselves overburdened by Federally connected children, with funding to educate them scarce.
The Beginning Findings of the Committee noted that “without continued help, more than 1.8 million children in these Federally impacted areas would not receive normal school services . . . . The U.S. has become an industrialist, landlord, or a businessman in many communities.” However, since its land is tax exempt, the Federal government has not accepted “the responsibility of the normal citizen in a community” to meet its financial obligation to support public schools under existing state school finance laws. In September of 1950, President Truman signed into law Public Law 81-874. Referred to as Impact Aid, the legislation authorized the Commissioner of Education to make contributions toward operating costs of the schools overburdened with increased attendance as the result of Federal activities and deprived of local revenues because of the tax-exempt status of Federal properties.
What is Federal Impaction? It’s the Land! The Impact Aid program was established to help make up the lost local tax base to school districts imposed upon by Federal property. The program is designed to provide payments in lieu of taxes to school districts that have had large parcels of land taken off the tax rolls after 1938 as the result of a Federal action.
What is the effect of Federal Impaction on local schools? Due to the non-taxable status of Federal land, the ability of the school district to raise revenue is reduced: Federal ownership of homes Federal ownership of places to work Indian Trust and Treaty Land Due to the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Relief Act, military personnel may be exempted from vehicle/personal property taxes Generally, school districts have three sources of revenue: State aid amounts to about 50% of revenue Taxes on local businesses/industries amount to about 25% of revenue Taxes on local homes and vehicles amount to about 25% of revenue Federal activities IMPACT two of these three sources
What is Impact Aid? The Impact Aid Program is the oldest elementary-secondary Federal education program administered by the Department of Education currently in law. It was signed into law in 1950 under President Harry S Truman. The program consisted of two separate laws to make up for the negative Federal impact: P .L. 81-815 (facilities) P .L. 81-874 (operations)
What is Impact Aid? Impact Aid is the ORIGINAL Federal education program 1951 – Civilian students (only) were eligible 1955 – Uniformed Services residing on-base are deemed eligible 1957 – Uniformed Services residing off-base are deemed eligible 1958 – Indian Lands children are deemed eligible as category (b) children unless the child’s parent worked and resided on eligible land 1970 – Low-Rent Housing children are deemed eligible 1970 – Indian Lands children are granted category “a” status without regard to workstation
Impact Aid & ESEA 1965 – Impact Aid was the law used to write the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Impact Aid remained a stand-alone law from 1950 – 1994 ESEA (Title I, etc.) were all amendments to the Impact Aid law in 1965 Impact Aid was the vehicle to get the ESEA put into law 1994 – The Repeal of Impact Aid – P .L. 81-815 and P .L. 81-874 Major changes were made to the law in the 1994 ESEA Reauthorization Repeal of P .L. 815 and 874 – IA is now a part of the ESEA, Title VIII
Impact Aid & ESEA 2000 – 2001 Reauthorized initially in 2000 as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill Reauthorized in 2001 in “No Child Left Behind” 2015 – Last authorization in 2015; now referred to as Title VII of P .L. 114-95 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Current authorization runs through Fiscal Year 2020
Impact Aid is a UNIQUE Federal Education Program Impact Aid goes straight to the Local Education Agency (LEA) IA is one of the ONLY Federal education programs that sends funds directly to the school district, thus there are few strings and little bureaucracy Impact Aid is SUPPLANT: Makes up for lost local revenue; not a program that provides supplemental funding like IDEA, Career and Technical Education, Title I and other Title programs, which are aimed at targeting specific student needs The funds are used for the benefit of all students By Federal law, states can NOT consider Impact Aid when calculating state aid
Impact of Impact Aid in Stafford County FY 2017 - $1,007,049.92 FY 2018 - $ 977,183.85 FY 2019 - $1,114,660.14
Impact Aid by the Numbers (2020) Children with disabilities with a parent in the uniformed services of the United States – 117 Children with a parent on active duty in the uniformed services of the United States – 2,437 Children with a parent employed on Federal property – 3,326 Children with a parent in who is an officer in an accredited foreign military – 6 Total Federally connected students = 5,886
Identifying Eligible Students Remember, it’s the land that determines Impact Aid eligibility! In order for an LEA to be eligible for an Impact Aid payment, the agency must have an enrollment of eligible children of either 3% of its total enrollment or no less than 400 students as measured in Average Daily Attendance. Not all Federal employees are eligible; they must report to work on Federal Property Post Office employees are not eligible unless the Post Office is located in a Federal Building National Guard service members are not eligible unless called up by the President and must provide orders indicating such; Reserve military are eligible if the count date occurs when a parent is on active duty
Gathering the Information: Parent-Pupil Survey School districts can design their own form by using Department sample but it must include the following: Survey date identified on the form Student’s name, date of birth, grade and school Name and complete address of Federal property Complete address includes number, street address, city, state and zip code Form must be dated and signed by parent on or after the official survey date If a parent cannot release their work station, their children cannot be counted for Impact Aid Pentagon Rule: Acceptable alternative location information may include the name of a widely recognized military installation or Federal site for which the name and location are commonly known but typically not represented by a street address
Remember: If employer is not located on Federal property, complete address where office is located must be identified If parent is not employed on Federal property, parent’s employment is not required For active duty military services, parent’s name, rank and branch of service required Pay scale is allowable for rank, but job description or military occupational specialty (MOS) is NOT National Guard members are only eligible if they were called up for active duty by the President on the survey date AND orders are submitted; Reserves eligible when reporting for duty, need orders only (not subject to the Presidential action)
Changes to the 2019-2020 Survey Form ALL families should complete Section I . Date and sign below. Return the survey to your child’s school by October 22, 2019 . Only families with a parent/guardian in the United States Uniformed Services with whom the child resides should complete Section II . Only families with a parent/guardian who works on Federal Property with whom the child resides should complete Section III . Only families with a parent/guardian who is a Foreign Military Officer with whom the child resides should Complete Section IV .
Changes to the 2019-2020 Survey Form Section I - Student Information – No Changes
Changes to the 2019-2020 Survey Form Section II – No Changes
Changes to the 2019-2020 Survey Form Section III Eliminated “Employer’s Address” (No more ‘Same as Above’ response!) Added “Pentagon Rule properties” If the name of the Federal property appears in the gray boxes, the parent does not have to include the address of the Federal property If the name of the Federal property is not listed, the full address – number, street name, city, state, and zip code – must be included (It’s the land!)
Changes to the 2019-2020 Survey Form Section IV – No changes
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