CONTACT: Erika Ross, (571) 458-7925, [email protected]

Washington, D.C. (April 1, 2020)—The Coalition for Military-Connected Student Success strongly supports increasing funding for Impact Aid. We are pleased that the FY2020 appropriations agreement provided a $39 million increase for Impact Aid Basic Support payments to school districts with reduced local tax revenue due to the presence of military-connected students and a $1 million increase for Federal Property payments to reimburse school districts for taxes lost due to federal ownership of land.

While these funding increases will be welcomed by local school districts and will better enable them to meet the educational needs of all their students, we renew our call for Congress and the Administration to continue increasing the funding for Impact Aid in FY2021, as the needs of districts still outstrip the funding provided.

The program, administered by the U.S. Department of Education, provides needed financial support to school districts that have diminished property tax revenue because of tax-exempt federal property, including military installations, or that have increased spending due to the enrollment of federally-connected children, such as the students of our nation’s military service members.

There are nearly 800,000 federally-connected children in more than 1,100 school districts across the country. These school districts face special challenges—they must provide a quality education to the children living on federal lands, such as military installations, while also meeting the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), all with a reduced tax base and thus fewer resources than other school districts.

School districts use Impact Aid for a wide variety of purposes, including the salaries of teachers and aides; purchasing textbooks, computers, and other equipment; after-school programs; Advanced Placement courses; enrichment programs; and much, much more.

Service members increasingly make decisions about relocations and re-enlistments based on the quality of education available to their children. Military readiness is influenced by the difference Impact Aid can make in a school district because families seek the very best education for their children. When school districts serving military-connected students struggle, so does military readiness.

Without sufficient Impact Aid flowing to school districts, the education of military-connected children—and indeed all children in a given school district—will suffer.

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The Coalition for Military-Connected Student Success seeks to provide policymakers with insights about the unique educational needs of the 1.2 million military-connected children and concrete recommendations on how to meet those needs.

CONTACT: Erika Ross, (571) 458-7925, [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 16, 2019) – The Coalition for Military-Connected Student Success, an advisory group of organizations working to ensure military-connected students have the best educational opportunities possible, opposes H.R. 1605/S. 695, The Education Savings Accounts for Military Families Act of 2019. This legislationwould create a new national voucher program for children of active duty service members. It places the program within Impact Aid, a vital source of funding for school districts that include federal property such as military installations. This bill puts Impact Aid and other education programs integral to the education of military-connected children at risk.

The typical military family moves every two to three years. Service members worry about the effect these frequent moves have on their children’s academic outcomes. They struggle to support their children as they adjust to new schools – with new teachers, new classmates, and often new curricula. The challenges faced by military-connected children are real. They demand thoughtful, well-considered bipartisan solutions from policymakers at all levels. Instead, H.R.1605/S. 695 would divert much-needed funds from public schools serving the majority of military-connected children.

In addition to Impact Aid, military-connected children are served by a broad array of federally funded education programs – from Head Start preschools to afterschool programs and services provided using Title I and Title IV funds. Cutting these to pay for a voucher program would hurt more military-connected children than it would help. Additionally, the bill grants the Secretary of Education broad authority to transfer funds out of any other Department of Education line item in order to support the military student vouchers, further jeopardizing Impact Aid and other critical programs.

We also have concerns for the military families who opt into the voucher program. Unlike public schools, the private entities that would receive funds through the ESA program are not subject to the requirements of the Military Interstate Children’s Compact, an agreement adopted by all 50 states and the District of Columbia that addresses some of the most common transition-related challenges faced by military-connected children. Students whose families opt into the ESA program would waive their right to a public education and lose protections provided by the compact, including support for credit transfer, graduation requirements, and course placement.

The legislation also does not propose any accountability standards for the schools or services it would fund. It introduces a new online marketplace ostensibly to combat fraud and abuse, but this new bureaucratic entity would not ensure quality – the only requirement to be featured on the marketplace is that a company be licensed in the state where it operates. We question the ability of the U.S. Department of Education to provide effective oversight and ensure military families are not targeted by unscrupulous actors. We have firsthand experience of this, having seen far too many veterans lose their education benefits to low-quality or fraudulent schools. We also note that private schools receiving these federally funded vouchers would be free to refuse students based on gender, sexuality, religious beliefs, or even special education needs.

Ensuring that more than a million highly-mobile military children receive a high-quality education that meets their needs is no easy task. The challenges are real and so is the need for solutions that are thoughtful and nonpartisan. We urge Congress to move cautiously and consider carefully before defunding critical programs to create an untested voucher program. The education of military-connected kids – and really, all children – is too important to risk.

For more information, visit militaryconnectedstudents.org

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By Karen Jowers

Originally posted by Military Times

Advocates with a special interest in the well-being of military children have launched an advisory group that pulls in a number of organizations that have long worked to help ensure military children have the best educational opportunities possible.

“Military-connected students and their families deserve educational options that move them forward and shape their tomorrows with great positive impact,” said Christi Ham, chairwoman of Military Families for High Standards, one of the inaugural organizations in the Coalition for Military-Connected Student Success. “Gathered here are those who focus their time, talents and energies to provide valuable options for these students. This group will become a powerful voice and a strong influence for outcomes that can shape true educational success.”

The overwhelming majority of school-age military children attend public schools. The coalition expects to focus its efforts on the U.S. Department of Education; military and civilian leaders of the military services; members of Congress; state-level education officials; service members and spouses; and the news media.

Their priorities are:

• Promoting rigorous education standards and access to high-quality education in public schools attended by military-connected children.
• Raising awareness about the Military Student Identifier required by the Every Student Succeeds Act, which requires states to collect information about military-connected students’ test results as a distinct subgroup.
• Advocating for the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, which has been adopted by all 50 states and the District of Columbia, to address transition issues commonly faced by military children as they move from one school district to another. (www.mic3.net)
• Encouraging full funding of Impact Aid, which is the federal government’s program for reimbursing school districts for a loss of local tax revenue because of federal lands in their districts.
• Highlighting effective practices that have been adopted by school districts and military installations to support military children and families.
• Raising awareness in institutions of higher learning about issues faced by military- and veteran-connected children, to help better prepare future teachers.

“Key to the retention of our force is the expectation that all our military-connected children have the opportunity to thrive academically, socially and emotionally regardless of duty station location,” said John Ballantyne, senior vice president and chief operating officer of the Military Child Education Coalition, a member of the new coalition.

For more than 20 years, MCEC has been an advocate for military children, and has instituted a number of programs such as Student 2 Student training program being used by nearly 300 public schools and Defense Department schools around the world to help military students when they move to a new school. MCEC long advocated for the Military Student Identifier.

“Military families consistently tell us that the quality of their children’s education is one of their greatest concerns. They worry that their military service will affect their children’s academic outcomes,” said Eileen Huck, government relations deputy director of the National Military Family Association.

“No parent should have that concern, especially one who is sacrificing to serve our country. While many improvements have been made, much remains to be done to ensure that military-connected kids receive the best possible education regardless of where their parents are stationed.

“We’re proud to partner with the other members of the Coalition to provide information and advice to policymakers to help them create policies to support military-connected children and families.”

Other members of the new coalition include the Association of the United States Army, National Association for Federally Impacted Schools, National Math + Science Initiative, and Military Impacted Schools Association.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 28, 2019) – Today, a group of the nation’s top military family organizations announced the formation of an advisory coalition to provide policymakers with insights about the unique educational needs of the 1.2 million military-connected children and offer concrete recommendations on how to meet those needs.

The Coalition for Military-Connected Student Success will provide advice and counsel to leaders at the U.S. Department of Education, uniformed and civilian senior leaders of the military services, members of Congress, state-level education officials, and service members and their spouses.

On average, military families move every two to three years, which can greatly impact a child’s K–12 education journey. Military-connected students face challenges associated with inconsistent education standards – they often are playing catch up to grade level in a new state or are struggling to sit through material they’ve already learned. In addition, the highly mobile nature of military life can impact the social and emotional aspects of military-connected students’ school experiences.

“Military-connected students and their families deserve educational options that move them forward and shape their tomorrows with great positive impact. They are an important element of our nation’s future and by current service-related data, a vital element of coming military readiness. This group understands this intimately,” said Christi Ham, military spouse and Chairwoman of Military Families for High Standards.

The coalition is currently comprised of The Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA); Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC); Military Families for High Standards (MFHS); Military Impacted Schools Association (MISA); National Association for Federally Impacted Schools (NAFIS); National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI); and National Military Family Association (NMFA).

“Military families consistently tell us that the quality of their children’s education is one of their greatest concerns. They worry that their military service will affect their children’s academic outcomes. No parent should have that concern – especially one who is sacrificing to serve our country. While many improvements have been made, much remains to be done to ensure that military-connected kids receive the best possible education regardless of where their parents are stationed. We’re proud to partner with the other members of the Coalition to provide information and advice to policymakers to help them create policies to support military-connected children and families,” said Joyce Raezer, NMFA Executive Director.

The members share a commitment to addressing education continuity and access issues associated with military-connected students including:

• Championing rigorous education standards and access to high-quality education in public schools attended by military-connected children;

• Encouraging full funding of Impact Aid – the federal government’s program for reimbursing school districts for a loss of local tax revenue – and the main means by which the federal government supports schools serving military-connected children;

• Advocating for the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, which has been adopted by all 50 states and the District of Columbia

• Raising awareness of issues faced by military- and veteran-connected children in the curricula of institutions of higher learning to help better prepare future teachers and other youth-serving professionals in identifying and responding to their needs;

• Raising awareness about the importance of the Military Student Identifier required by the Every Student Succeeds Act. The law mandates that states collect information about military-connected students’ assessment results as a distinct subgroup in order to better shape policies and direct resources; and

• Highlighting effective practices, worthy of replication, that have been adopted by school districts and military installations to support military-connected children and families through school transitions and throughout their education journey.

For more information, visit militaryconnectedstudents.org

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