Report Title:

Special Education; Federal Impact Aid

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Federal Impact Aid law, referred to as P. L. 103-382, Title VIII, was signed in 1950 by President Harry S. Truman to directly reimburse public school districts for the loss of traditional revenue sources due to a federal presence or federal activity; and

WHEREAS, state tax revenues account for a large portion of the Department of Education's annual budget; and

WHEREAS, the Federal Impact Aid law requires the Department of Defense to make arrangements that may be necessary to provide free public education to all federally connected children; and

WHEREAS, parents or guardians of federally connected students in Hawaii often pay little to no state income taxes, live on nontaxable federal property, shop at stores that do not generate taxes, and work on nontaxable federal land, thereby adversely effecting a school district's financial base; and

WHEREAS, the federal Impact Aid program, provides opportunities for school districts to qualify for additional funding through title 20 United States Code section 7702, relating to payments of property, section 7703(d), relating to military students with disabilities, section 7703(f), relating to heavily impacted districts, and section 7707, relating to construction and maintenance needs of certain school districts; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Education serves 30,337 federally connected pupils, of which 1,425 are pupils identified as special education students that receive special education services; and

WHEREAS, the January 2001 Quarterly Report on the Status of the State's Progress in meeting the requirements of the Felix v. Cayetano Consent Decree indicates that in 1998-1999 the average special education expenditure per student for the State of Hawaii was $4,586, of which federal support was only 14%; and

WHEREAS, if the per pupil expenditure for special education students of 1998-1999 is multiplied by 1,425 (federally connected pupils that receive special education services) the total cost for these students would be $6,535,050, of which federal government support, at the 14% rate, would have amounted to only $914,907, leaving the State of Hawaii responsible for the remaining $5,620,143; and

WHEREAS, Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act authorizes additional payments to local educational agencies based on the number of children who are eligible to receive services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); and

WHEREAS, payments are limited to IDEA children whose parents are members of the Armed Forces and reside on or off a military base; and

WHEREAS, under IDEA, the federal government has committed to funding up to 40 percent of the rising state costs incurred in providing a free education to children with disabilities as required under federal law; and

WHEREAS, the amount of additional funding earmarked for the program’s special education (SPED) children is divided among eligible students; and

WHEREAS, to determine the amount federally connected children would receive under this provision, each eligible SPED student with a parent residing on a military base is given a weight of 1.0 while a student who resides with a military parent, but lives off base is weighted at 0.5; and

WHEREAS, unlike the Basic Support Payments which go into the district’s general operating fund, SPED funds must be used specifically for special education; and

WHEREAS, states should be given the option to combine IDEA funds with other federal funds that support state and local systemic education reform activities under certain conditions, such as if the state is willing to include a substantial number of students with disabilities in the State’s assessment system and if the State is willing to demonstrate that these students are making progress toward predetermined goals; and

WHEREAS, changes need to be adopted for IDEA to address the problems states are having with the escalation of costs in providing federally mandated services; and

WHEREAS, as the Department of Education moves forward to develop regulation and policy letters to guide the implementation of IDEA, the Secretary of Education needs to use a true consensus process in developing such regulations; and

WHEREAS, it is also critical that the regulations be developed in a manner that incorporates the concerns of the states, especially because the act as amended reduces resources made available to states for implementation and technical assistance efforts at the state and local level; and

WHEREAS, at the end of the year, local education agencies would be required to provide a full accounting of how federal funds were utilized and the performance of students eligible under IDEA; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-First Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Board of Education and the Department of Education are requested to provide a report on the history of impact aid received by Hawaii (including the sections of the United States Code under which an application for funds was made and how these funds were dispersed); and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education and the Department of Education, to the extent data is available, are requested to identify the full cost of educating federally connected students as allowed by the federal impact aid formulas, including needs for general administration, federal instruction, special education programs and equipment, capital improvements, and equipment in order to maximize impact aid paid to the State; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education and the Department of Education, to the extent data is available, are requested to make an assessment to determine if students are making progress toward predetermined goals; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education and the Department of Education, to the extent data is available, are requested to provide a report on how funds were used toward SPED programs, teachers salaries, and equipment including assistive devices, and identify all public educational institutions located on United States Department of Defense facilities and all other public educational institutions that are attended predominantly by students residing on federal property and pursue separate appropriations for construction and maintenance as allowed under title 20 United States Code section 7707; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this final report be transmitted to Hawaii's congressional delegation with a recommendation that the Department of Defense be apprised of the significant findings and proposed remedies; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation are respectfully urged to join in a concerted effort to provide full funding for federally connected students in Hawaii and minimize the financial impact of federally connected students to Hawaii's public education system; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education and the Department of Education are requested to submit findings and recommendations to the Legislature not less than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2002; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Education, and each member of Hawaii’s congressional delegation.