Joe Courtney

01/18/2022 | Press release | Archived content

Courtney’s Bill to Support Educational Impact Aid for Public Schools Passes House, Will be Signed into Law by President Biden

WASHINGTON, DC-Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass S. 2959/H.R. 6126, the Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act, a bipartisan, bicameral bill co-authored by Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) to support local schools serving large numbers of military families and that rely on federal Impact Aid to help fill out their resources. The Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act builds upon Rep. Courtney's signature, bipartisan effort first started in 2020to support local public schools in Ledyard and Groton. Courtney introduced the new Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act to the House on December 13, 2021 as H.R. 6126, and the companion legislation (S. 2959) was passed unanimously in the Senate last month.

The House voted to pass Rep. Courtney's bill in overwhelming bipartisan fashion today, 414-6. Courtney's Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act will now be signed into law by President Biden, making it one of the first bills to become law in 2022.

"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," said Susan Austin, Superintendent of Groton Public Schools. "This really makes a difference for Groton, who welcomes the largest military community in the state."

"It's been a challenging couple of schoolyears for everyone in K-12 public education, and right now the focus has got to remain on keeping our schools open for in-classroom learning. Our teachers, students, and parents all need that stability, and now, for the second year in a row, our bipartisan Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act is going to help make it happen," said Rep. Courtney. "My team and I are here to move the ball forward for eastern Connecticut no matter who the president is-last year our bill to protect Impact Aid funding was signed into law by President Trump, it was a big deal for our local schools, and it directly supported the education of thousands of young students here in our region whose parents wear our nation's uniform and who live on tribal lands. Our local schools have worked hard to stay open, they've done a great job, and we need schools across the country to stay focused on teaching, addressing learning loss, and staying open. Our bipartisan Impact Aid bill lets them do that just by streamlining the paperwork process-a simple fix, but one that's had a tangible and positive impact at public schools nationwide."

Rep. Courtney continued:"This is two years in a row that our bipartisan bill has been signed into law-first by President Trump and now by President Biden-and we couldn't have secured either victory without the work of our local educators in Ledyard and Groton, two local school districts who rely on Impact Aid the most. I want to give special thanks to School Superintendents Jason Hartling of Ledyard and Susan Austin of Groton, who helped bring this to my office's attention and who have helped push this effort forward for their schools and the students they serve. Their dedication to our schools and to getting our students back on track in the classroom has once again resulted in the enactment of our bill."

Rep. Courtney's Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act (H.R. 6126) would once again reduce barriers to full participation in the Impact Aid Program, which 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 hereto read more.

Courtney's new bill would 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. The Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act (H.R. 6126) would 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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