AzSIAA Bi-Weekly Newsletter
August Congressional Recess
- Reach out to your representatives and senators: ask to set up a meeting to discuss your education policy priorities, or invite them to visit your schools.
- If you reach out to your representatives and senators and get a meeting or send an email and need some help on brushing up on the top ASIAA priorities, check out the talking points we used in previous eNewsletters.
- Talking points
- Thank your members of Congress for supporting the Bipartisan Budget Deal. Congress must craft the overall deal into the 12 bills that collectively fund the government, and needs to do so before October 1 to avoid a shutdown. While the House made progress on many of the 12 bills, it was to a higher overall number, which means they need to ratchet down their spending at the same time that Senate leaders are working through partisan disagreements on how to divvy up the funding. The path to final 2020 numbers is anything but certain!
- Please support the House Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill - $50 million for Basic Support and $2 million for Federal Property previously passed by the House.
- Please cosponsor HR 3647, Impact Aid Infrastructure Act introduced by Representative TJ Cox (D-CA) and Don Young (R-AK) introduced in the House July 9 calls for a one-time infusion of $1 billion over three years to Section 7007 Impact Aid construction. Bill summary.
- Please oppose any efforts to direct public dollars to private education. Please oppose all vouchers and privatization proposals.
- Talk to members about the importance of continued investment in education to build a stronger nation. We need a well-trained and educated workforce to compete in the global economy and support our military.
- Ask your members of Congress to join the Senate and House Impact Aid Coalition by contacting NAFIS, Leslie Finnan at 202-624-5455. Members of the Coalitions are bipartisan, serving as clearinghouses for information concerning the Impact Aid program and to alert Members when issues affecting the program are pending before Congress.
- Talking points
President Trump Signs Bipartisan Budget Deal - NAFIS News - August 2, 2019
Today, President Trump signed into law a two-year budget deal. It was passed by the Senate on Thursday, with a 67-28 vote, and by the House last week.
The deal raises the budget caps for defense and non-defense discretionary (NDD) spending and suspends the debt ceiling for two years. It sets the NDD cap at $621.5 billion for FY 2020. This is $25.6 billion above the current spending level, but $9.5 billion below the level previously passed by the House. Therefore, it may be a challenge for Impact Aid to maintain the increases secured in the House Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill - $50 million for Basic Support and $2 million for Federal Property. Please continue to advocate for this funding, and we encourage you to attend the NAFIS Fall Conference to do the same!
The deal raises the budget caps for defense and non-defense discretionary (NDD) spending and suspends the debt ceiling for two years. It sets the NDD cap at $621.5 billion for FY 2020. This is $25.6 billion above the current spending level, but $9.5 billion below the level previously passed by the House. Therefore, it may be a challenge for Impact Aid to maintain the increases secured in the House Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill - $50 million for Basic Support and $2 million for Federal Property. Please continue to advocate for this funding, and we encourage you to attend the NAFIS Fall Conference to do the same!
FY20 Appropriations Update - ASCD - Legislative Corp - August 2, 2019
Both the House and Senate have passed the overarching budget deal crafted by the President and Congressional leaders, a crucial step in annual appropriations work. In terms of what is in the deal, the measure increases statutory spending limits by $323 billion combined in fiscal 2020 and 2021. It also suspends the debt limit through July 31, 2021, avoiding the risk of a federal default on payments until well after the next presidential election. The deal finally ends the automatic budget cuts enacted as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011. Specific to our slice of the federal funding pie, this deal doesn't get into program-level funding. It does, however, break down into defense and non-defense discretionary (NDD) which includes our funding. For NDD, the deal includes $621.5 billion in base funding for FY 2020, a $24.5 billion increase over FY 2019 and $78.3 billion more than the current cap, with $8 billion in off budget funding for a total of $629.5 billion. For FY 2021, $626.5 billion in base NDD funding, an increase of $29.5 billion over FY 19 and $71.9 billion over the current cap, with $8 billion in OCO for a total of $634.55.
Scheduling Fall Conference Hill Visits - Tuesday, September 24, 2019
As of this week, both the House and Senate are on recess until September 9, which means that your Senators and Representatives will be home. This is a good time to invite them to your schools or meet with them to underscore the importance of Impact Aid.
Hill Day is Tuesday, September 24. ASIAA will be scheduling time with as many offices as I can – your voice is crucial, and the timing is perfect to make the pitch for increased appropriations. If you are joining the ASIAA hill visits, please forward an email with the names and positions of who will be attending. Many of the congressional offices ask for this information.
If you have any questions, contact AISAA Executive Director Larry Wallen at lwallen@azsiaa.org or 480-382-6460.
Hill Day is Tuesday, September 24. ASIAA will be scheduling time with as many offices as I can – your voice is crucial, and the timing is perfect to make the pitch for increased appropriations. If you are joining the ASIAA hill visits, please forward an email with the names and positions of who will be attending. Many of the congressional offices ask for this information.
If you have any questions, contact AISAA Executive Director Larry Wallen at lwallen@azsiaa.org or 480-382-6460.
Showcase your school district at the NAFIS Fall Conference! - NAFIS News
NAFIS is looking for three districts to each create a three-minute video highlighting what you spend Impact Aid funding on and what you’ve achieved because of it. These videos (which in the past have often been student-led projects) will be shown during the general sessions at the NAFIS 2019 Fall Conference, September 22-24. They will also be featured on the NAFIS website and social media channels.
To participate, districts must have a representative attending the conference and willing to introduce the video at a general session. If you would like to see past videos, visit our Faces of Impact Aid page: https://www.nafisdc.org/about-nafis/faces-of-impact-aid/
For more information or if your school district would like to volunteer, contact Anne O’Brien at anne@nafisdc.org.
To participate, districts must have a representative attending the conference and willing to introduce the video at a general session. If you would like to see past videos, visit our Faces of Impact Aid page: https://www.nafisdc.org/about-nafis/faces-of-impact-aid/
For more information or if your school district would like to volunteer, contact Anne O’Brien at anne@nafisdc.org.
The new Impact Aid application is coming!
Earlier this week NAFIS Communications Director Anne O'Brien previewed the new application at a US Department of Education Impact Aid training hosted by OASIS in Tulsa.
It may take some getting used to, but the new system will ultimately be more user-friendly than G5. A few key differences she noted:
These are only a few of the changes coming to the Impact Aid application in FY20, but NAFIS and the US Department of Education will be working to ensure the transition to the new system goes as smoothly as possible. Be sure to sign up for the Impact Aid listserv from the Department for the latest details as they are available: https://www2.ed.gov/…/offices/list/oese/impactaid/index.html
It may take some getting used to, but the new system will ultimately be more user-friendly than G5. A few key differences she noted:
- No more tables - the 7003 application moves from tables to categories of children
- Children with Disabilities are entered differently - they need to be included in the total count of Indian lands, military on-base and military off-base students, in addition to being listed in a separate field
- Federal properties will be searched and entered by name, not by a property code number
- No more signature pages to email, upload or fax - there will be a click box for assurances
These are only a few of the changes coming to the Impact Aid application in FY20, but NAFIS and the US Department of Education will be working to ensure the transition to the new system goes as smoothly as possible. Be sure to sign up for the Impact Aid listserv from the Department for the latest details as they are available: https://www2.ed.gov/…/offices/list/oese/impactaid/index.html
Final FY 2018 Payments Released for Section 7002 Federal Property - NAFIS News - August 9, 2019
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Education released the Section 7002 "remaining funds" payments for FY 2018. These are the final payments for that fiscal year.
Payments should reach recipients' banks between August 9 and August 13. Please contact the Impact Aid Program Office at Impact.Aid@ed.gov or 202-260-3858 if you have any questions.
Payments should reach recipients' banks between August 9 and August 13. Please contact the Impact Aid Program Office at Impact.Aid@ed.gov or 202-260-3858 if you have any questions.
Post to Your Calendar
| Date | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 4th - 6th, 2019 | ASBA Law Conference | Scottsdale, Az |
| Sept 12th - 14th, 2019 | ARSA Conference | Flagstaff, Az |
| Sept 19th, 2019 | ASA Principal and the Law Conference | Phoenix, Az |
| Sept 29th, 2019 | New Superintendent Collaborative Network | Sedona, Az |
| Sept 29th - Oct 1st, 2019 | Fall Superintendency/Higher Ed Conf | Sedona, Az |
| Oct 14th - 15th, 2019 | Impact Aid Workshop | Phoenix, Az |
| Oct 22nd, 2019 | Apache Country Meeting ASBA | TBD |
| Oct 23th, 2019 | Navajo County Meeting ASBA | TBD |
| Oct 24th, 2019 | Coconino County Meeting ASBA | TBD |
| Nov 8th, 2019 | Aspiring Superintenet's Conf | ASA Office |
| Nov 15th, 2019 | ASBA/ASA Legislative Workshop | TBD |
| Dec 17th - 19th, 2019 | ASBA Annual Conference | Phoenix, Az |