AzSIAA Bi-Weekly Newsletter
From the Executive Director
The Fall NAFIS Conference is four weeks away (September 23-25) and the Hyatt is sold out. The conference theme is “Facing Adversity: Stronger Together.” The conference website is available for your review.
The Board of Directors of ASIAA is partnering with the Arizona Rural Schools Association annual conference to share resources and our message. The Board is requesting Impact Aid districts to send representatives to the ARSA conference September 13 - 15, 2018 at Little America. The ARSA conference begins on September 14 with the “Introduction of County Teachers of the Year” by John Warren, President. The conference continues with breakout sessions and exhibitor displays. ASIAA will present “Impact Aid 2018? What’s going on?” at 3:35 in the Aspen Room. The conference will conclude on Saturday with ASIAA hosting the breakfast. Following will be a joint Board of Directors meeting of ARSA and ASIAA.
August through November is a critical time for Basic Support recipients to collect federally connected student data for the upcoming application - through Pupil Surveys and Source Checks.
Arizona Primary Results
The Board of Directors of ASIAA is partnering with the Arizona Rural Schools Association annual conference to share resources and our message. The Board is requesting Impact Aid districts to send representatives to the ARSA conference September 13 - 15, 2018 at Little America. The ARSA conference begins on September 14 with the “Introduction of County Teachers of the Year” by John Warren, President. The conference continues with breakout sessions and exhibitor displays. ASIAA will present “Impact Aid 2018? What’s going on?” at 3:35 in the Aspen Room. The conference will conclude on Saturday with ASIAA hosting the breakfast. Following will be a joint Board of Directors meeting of ARSA and ASIAA.
- Arizona Rural Schools Conference
- September 13-15, 2018
- Little America, Flagstaff, Az
August through November is a critical time for Basic Support recipients to collect federally connected student data for the upcoming application - through Pupil Surveys and Source Checks.
Arizona Primary Results
| Senate | Rep | Dem | Incumbents |
|---|---|---|---|
| --- | Marth McSally | Krysten Sinema | John Kyle |
| --- | --- | --- | Jeff Flake |
| House | --- | --- | --- |
| District 1 | Wendy Rodgers | Tom O'Halleran | Tom O'Halleran |
| District 2 | Marquez Peterson | Ann Kirkpatrick | Martha McSally |
| District 3 | Nicolas Pierson | Raul Grijalva | Raul Grijalva |
| District 4 | Paul Gosar | David Brill | Paul Gosar |
| District 5 | Andy Biggs | Joan Greene | Andy Biggs |
| District 6 | David Schweikert | Anita Malik | David Schweikert |
| District 7 | Ruben Galego | --- | Ruben Gallego |
| District 8 | Debbi Lasko | Hiral Tipirneni | Debbie Lesko |
| District 9 | Stephen Ferrara | Greg Stanton | Krysten Sinema |
See you in Washington!
Larry E. Wallen
Executive Director
NAFIS 2018 Back to School Action Packet
The NAFIS 2018 Back to School Action Packet contained information, templates, and a template for a Governing Board resolution supporting Impact Aid. Please ask your Board to support Impact Aid by passing a resolution use for hill visits. Please email a copy of the resolution to Larry Wallen, Executive Director at lwallen@azsiaa.org. Following is a template for the resolution:
RESOLUTION, urging the US Congress to prevent spending reductions and increase funding for the Federal
Impact Aid program.
WHEREAS, President Harry S Truman signed Public Law 81-874 in 1950, which first authorized the Impact Aid
Program;
WHEREAS, Impact Aid, the oldest Federal K-12 education program, is designed to reimburse school districts for the loss of traditional revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt Federal property or activities;
WHEREAS, Impact Aid payments are allocated directly to school districts in lieu of lost local tax dollars to assist with the basic educational needs of students and schools;
WHEREAS, existing property owners in our community already bear a significant financial burden due to Federal acquisition of private lands; and
WHEREAS, Impact Aid funding is of critical importance in providing quality educational opportunities for the
(school district name) school district, without which our school district could not accomplish XX; and
WHEREAS, the Federal obligation upon which the Impact Aid program is based today is no different than it was when the program was established over 65 years ago:
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
the (school district name) strongly supports the Federal investment in federally impacted school districts,
opposes sequestration as created by the Budget Control Act and its negative effect on the Impact Aid program;
advocates for increased funding for this Federal obligation to alleviate the local taxpayer burden caused by
Federal Property; and requests the US Congress recognize the importance of the Impact Aid program in ensuring that federally connected children receive a high-quality public education by fully funding the Impact Aid program.
See you in DC!
Larry E. Wallen,
Executive Director
RESOLUTION, urging the US Congress to prevent spending reductions and increase funding for the Federal
Impact Aid program.
WHEREAS, President Harry S Truman signed Public Law 81-874 in 1950, which first authorized the Impact Aid
Program;
WHEREAS, Impact Aid, the oldest Federal K-12 education program, is designed to reimburse school districts for the loss of traditional revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt Federal property or activities;
WHEREAS, Impact Aid payments are allocated directly to school districts in lieu of lost local tax dollars to assist with the basic educational needs of students and schools;
WHEREAS, existing property owners in our community already bear a significant financial burden due to Federal acquisition of private lands; and
WHEREAS, Impact Aid funding is of critical importance in providing quality educational opportunities for the
(school district name) school district, without which our school district could not accomplish XX; and
WHEREAS, the Federal obligation upon which the Impact Aid program is based today is no different than it was when the program was established over 65 years ago:
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
the (school district name) strongly supports the Federal investment in federally impacted school districts,
opposes sequestration as created by the Budget Control Act and its negative effect on the Impact Aid program;
advocates for increased funding for this Federal obligation to alleviate the local taxpayer burden caused by
Federal Property; and requests the US Congress recognize the importance of the Impact Aid program in ensuring that federally connected children receive a high-quality public education by fully funding the Impact Aid program.
See you in DC!
Larry E. Wallen,
Executive Director
Final FY2017 Basic Support Payments Released; Hold Harmless Takes Effect - (NAFIS News Aug 24, 2018)
The U.S. Department of Education has released the final FY 2017 payments for Basic Support Section 7003. You should receive a payment voucher via email, in addition to the payment. Final payment rates are 92.332% of LOT and $1,210.50 per weighted student unit under Section 7003(d). Federal Properties Section 7002 FY 2017 payments were previously finalized.
FY 2017 is the first year ESSA takes effect, and therefore it is the first year for which the new Hold Harmless (Section 7003(e)) is implemented. If your school district's Basic Support payment was calculated to drop by 20 percent or more between FY 2016 and FY 2017, the Hold Harmless limits the reduction in payment to 90 percent of the FY 2016 payment. If your school district was eligible for a Hold Harmless payment under this provision, the payment increase to reach the Hold Harmless amount is listed on the voucher.
In July, the Department released $15 million for the FY 2018 initial construction formula payments to approximately 175 LEAs that are eligible for these payments. The initial payments were set at $100 per student living on Indian lands and $240 per uniformed services dependent student.
The Department started releasing a second round of interim FY 2018 payments at 87% of LOT and $1,050 per student unit for children with disabilities. These payments will continue to be released through October.
Future Payments
FY 2017 is the first year ESSA takes effect, and therefore it is the first year for which the new Hold Harmless (Section 7003(e)) is implemented. If your school district's Basic Support payment was calculated to drop by 20 percent or more between FY 2016 and FY 2017, the Hold Harmless limits the reduction in payment to 90 percent of the FY 2016 payment. If your school district was eligible for a Hold Harmless payment under this provision, the payment increase to reach the Hold Harmless amount is listed on the voucher.
In July, the Department released $15 million for the FY 2018 initial construction formula payments to approximately 175 LEAs that are eligible for these payments. The initial payments were set at $100 per student living on Indian lands and $240 per uniformed services dependent student.
The Department started releasing a second round of interim FY 2018 payments at 87% of LOT and $1,050 per student unit for children with disabilities. These payments will continue to be released through October.
Future Payments
- Section 7003 Basic Support Payments: In October, the Department will begin to release initial FY 2019 payments set at 50% of LOT and $500 per student unit for children with disabilities. Initial FY 2019 payments are subject to availability of appropriated funds.
- All FY 2019 application reviews have been completed, with reports sent to the LEAs. If you wish to resubmit documentation to demonstrate student eligibility, do so promptly. Contact your assigned Impact Aid analyst if you have questions about a field review report. The Department continues to assist a very few applicants that educate children who live on Indian lands and that do not have Indian Policies and Procedures (IPPs) in place that meet the program regulations. The regulations covering IPPs were changed effective January 31, 2017. LEAs must develop and adopt IPPs that meet the requirements of the regulations to receive FY 2019 payments.
Senate Passes Appropriations Bill with $25 million increase for Impact Aid (NAFIS News Aug 24, 2018)
Yesterday the Senate passed the FY 2019 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations bill - which includes Impact Aid funding - by a vote of 85-7. The bill increases total funding for the U.S. Department of Education by more than $500 million over fiscal 2018, including a $25 million increase in Impact Aid ($1 million for Federal Properties; $24 million for Basic Support).
The House version of this bill is still awaiting action on the floor. That bill includes an even greater increase for Impact Aid - $52 million ($2 million for Federal Properties; $50 million for Basic Support).
The House and Senate bills will need to be reconciled before they can be signed into law. NAFIS will be advocating strongly for the greater House numbers, and this message will be an important talking point at the NAFIS Fall Conference. If you would like to send a letter to Congress in support of those numbers, do so quickly and easily using the NAFIS Action Center.
The House version of this bill is still awaiting action on the floor. That bill includes an even greater increase for Impact Aid - $52 million ($2 million for Federal Properties; $50 million for Basic Support).
The House and Senate bills will need to be reconciled before they can be signed into law. NAFIS will be advocating strongly for the greater House numbers, and this message will be an important talking point at the NAFIS Fall Conference. If you would like to send a letter to Congress in support of those numbers, do so quickly and easily using the NAFIS Action Center.
NAFIS Conference Update (NAFIS News Aug 24, 2018)
Hill Breakfast Reception: As previously announced, NAFIS will host a breakfast reception on Capitol Hill celebrating congressional champions of the Impact Aid program. The event, which is included in the cost of your conference registration, will take place Tuesday, September 25, from 8:30-9:30am. It will be held in the Rayburn House Office Building, room 2043. Please consider the time and location when scheduling appointments with your Congressional representatives.
Post to Your Calendar
| Date | Organization | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 13-15, 2018 | ARSA | 2018 ARSA Annual Conference | Flagstaff, Az |
| Sept 23-25, 2018 | NAFIS | NAFIS Fall 2018 Conference | Washington, DC |
| Sept 18-19, 2018 | ADE | 2018 Arizona Indian Education Stakeholders Summit | Scottsdale, Az |
| Sept 26-28, 2018 | ACSA | Southwest Carter Convention | Phoenix, Az |
| Oct 11-12, 2018 | FISEF | FY2020 Application Workshop - James Kock Facilitator | Flagstaff, Az |
| Oct 17, 2018 | ASBA | Apache and Navajo County Meeting | TBD |
| Oct 2018 | ASA | Fall Superintendent Conference | Prescott, Az |
| Nov 15-16, 2018 | ASBA | Pre Workshop and Legislative Workshop | Phoenix, Az |
| Dec 12-14, 2018 | ASBA | ASBA-ASA 61st Annual Conference | Phoenix, Az |