Signed Into Law: President Biden Signs Rep. Courtney's Bipartisan Bill To Support Education Impact For Public Schools

Statement

For the second year in a row, Courtney's effort to streamline the Educational Impact Aid program will provide direct support to local eastern CT schools

This morning, Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) announced that the Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act (S. 2959/H.R. 6126), a bipartisan, bicameral bill he co-authored, has officially been signed into law by President Biden. The bill will now provide support in the upcoming 2022-2023 schoolyear to K-12 public schools that serve large numbers of military families, and that rely on federal Impact Aid to help fill out their resources--including schools in Ledyard and Groton. The statement issued by the White House announcing the bill's enactment acknowledged Courtney's leadership on this measure.

The bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Courtney in December 2021, and it builds upon his signature effort first started in 2020 to support local schools in eastern Connecticut. The House voted to pass Courtney's Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act by an overwhelming margin of 414-6 on Tuesday, and the companion legislation (S. 2959) was passed unanimously in the Senate last month. With President Biden's signature today, Rep. Courtney's bill to support local eastern Connecticut schools and others across the country has officially been made law for the second year in a row.

"I'm grateful that Rep. Courtney kept this important funding issue for Ledyard in focus," said Jason Hartling, Superintendent of Ledyard Public Schools. "We continue to see the dramatic impact of the pandemic on our schools and this is a welcome relief that our community will not be impacted by a loss of funding."

"As host to the largest military community in Connecticut, the town of Groton receives annual Impact Aid grants from the Federal Department of Education, which is a revenue source that goes directly to pay for education in Groton. Impact Aid contributes to enriching the educational opportunities of all our students. The amount we receive is based on how many of our school-aged population have parents that work or live on federal properties, such as the first and finest Submarine Base in the World, and over 1,700 Groton students are in that category, making us eligible to receive a significant amount of funding that will benefit our schools and students. We are so appreciative of Congressman Courtney and his work to support Southeastern Connecticut with this Impact Aid bill that will continue to provide for our community as we withstand effects of the pandemic; this really makes a difference for Groton" said Susan Austin, Superintendent of Groton Public Schools.

"This is two years in a row that our bipartisan bill to support local schools and help keep them open for in-classroom learning has been signed into law--first by President Trump and now by President Biden," said Rep. Courtney. "We couldn't have done it this year or last year without the work and advocacy of our local educators in Ledyard and Groton, two of our towns that rely on Impact Aid the most, particularly Superintendents Jason Hartling of Ledyard Public Schools, and Susan Austin of Groton Public Schools. They brought this to my office's attention back in 2020, and they've been outstanding partners ever since in helping us build what's become a nationwide effort, getting it across the finish line two years in a row, under two different administrations. Schools, teachers, students, and parents in our region and across the country are going to benefit from this law now thanks to their work."

"My team and I are focused on delivering on behalf of eastern Connecticut, and I've been grateful for all the bipartisan support we've received on this effort from my colleagues like Rep. Dusty Johnson from South Dakota, and from others across the country," Rep. Courtney continued. "This bill was being tracked closely by thousands of school officials and military personnel--including Maranda Chapman, the Navy School Liaison Officer at Groton Submarine Base New London--and now that it's been signed into law it means that schools serving our local military families and others living on Indian lands will get the support they need to stay open, and stay focused on their work and passion for teaching. On behalf of everyone who wears the uniform of this country, our tribal nations and their families, I was proud to help get this across the finish line for the second year in a row."

Rep. Courtney's Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act will reduce barriers to full participation in the Educational Impact Aid program during the 2022-2023 schoolyear. The Educational Impact Aid program supports school districts in towns like Ledyard, Groton, and others across the country where high portions of land is removed from the local tax rolls, such as military bases and tribal lands. Courtney first began this effort for local schools last year, when his bipartisan Impact Aid bill was signed into law by President Trump. Click here to read more.

Now that it's been signed into law, Courtney's new bill will allow these school districts to use their student headcount from the 2021-2022 school year, which has already been calculated, for their Impact Aid applications for the 2022-2023 school year, which are due on January 31, 2022. Amid the complexity of returning to school during the recovery, many schools are worried that they will be unable to get an accurate headcount of eligible students, and will receive less funding than they need from the Impact Aid program.

Courtney's Work to Support Local Schools That Rely on Impact Aid

Impact Aid was designed to assist local school districts that have lost property tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt Federal property, or that have experienced increased expenditures due to the enrollment of federally connected children, including children living on Indian lands and military families. The program supports local school districts with concentrations of children who reside on Indian lands, military bases, low-rent housing properties, and other Federal properties, or have parents in the uniformed services or employed on eligible Federal properties.

In the summer of 2020, Courtney met with the superintendents of Groton and Ledyard Public Schools, who shared concerns that amid the confusion of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools would be unable to get an accurate headcount of eligible Impact Aid students and would receive less funding than they needed from the federal program.

On August 25, 2020, Courtney announced the introduction of the bipartisan Impact Aid Coronavirus Relief Act to the 116th Congress. The bill allowed schools to use their student headcounts from the 2020-2021 school year, which had already been calculated, for their Impact Aid applications for the current 2021-2022 school year. This flexibility removed an administrative requirement for parents and school administrators and ensured that schools in eastern Connecticut with high numbers of military and tribal families maintained the financial support that they are entitled to during a challenging time.

On December 7, 2020, Courtney's Impact Aid Coronavirus Relief Act was signed into law by President Trump, making it one of only a handful of COVID-19 relief bills signed into law under the previous Administration.

In 2021, many schools across the country reported similar concerns about getting an accurate headcount for the 2022-2023 school year as the recovery continues.

Now, the Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act will ensure that federal Impact Aid for public school districts with high concentrations of children of U.S. servicemembers will not be adversely affected by COVID-19 during the upcoming school year because of a paperwork requirement.

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