Parents of military-connected students are used to filling out Impact Aid forms to ensure their child’s school receives vital funds. But did you know that Impact Aid has not been fully funded since 1969?

Impact Aid provides federal resources to public school districts affected by reduced tax income due to the presence of federal land, such as military installations and tribal lands. This funding supports nearly 1,100 districts serving more than 8 million students. Not only does Impact Aid fund teachers and staff, but it also provides for instructional materials, technology, and other educational needs.

MOAA applauds Reps. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) and David Valadao (R-Calif.) on the reintroduction of the Advancing Toward Impact Aid Full Funding Act (H.R. 5195). This bill creates a five-year plan to reach full funding by fiscal year 2031. Other supporters include the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools (NAFIS), Blue Star Families (BSF), the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC), and the Military Impacted Schools Association (MISA).

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“Every child deserves high-quality education, no matter where they live or their parents work,” Levin said. “For too long, Congress has failed to fully fund Impact Aid, leaving schools in our district and across the country without the resources they need. I’m proud to partner with Rep. Valadao on this bipartisan bill to close this gap and deliver stronger support to students, teachers, and military families.”

Congress appropriated approximately $1.625 billion for Impact Aid in FY 2024, according to a report from NAFIS, with the majority of the funds designated for basic support and the rest funding programs for children with disabilities, construction, facility maintenance, and offsetting further lost tax revenue from the presence of federal property.

The report details the formula known as the Learning Opportunity Threshold (LOT), which measures how much Impact Aid funding a school district should receive. When the formula is applied based on the number of impacted students, Impact Aid is $867 million short in just the basic support category.

The federal property category reimburses school districts that have lost significant local revenue due to the federal ownership of land within district boundaries, such as a military installation. In this category, there is a $1.04 billion unmet need for 55 school districts.

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MOAA supports efforts to ensure our military-connected students have access to high-quality education and will continue to work toward the full funding of Impact Aid.