Department of Education

IMPACT AID

Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Request

CONTENTS

Page

Appropriations Language ........................................................................................................B-1

Analysis of Language Provisions and Changes.......................................................................B-2

Appropriation, Adjustments and Transfers ..............................................................................B-4

Summary of Changes .............................................................................................................B-5

Authorizing Legislation............................................................................................................B-6

Appropriations History.............................................................................................................B-7

Significant Items in FY 2016 Appropriations Reports...............................................................B-8

Summary of Request ..............................................................................................................B-9

Activities:...............................................................................................................................B-11

Payments for federally connected children: ......................................................................B-11

Basic support payments ...............................................................................................B-11

Payments for children with disabilities ..........................................................................B-22

Facilities maintenance ......................................................................................................B-26

Construction .....................................................................................................................B-29

Payments for Federal property .........................................................................................B-35

State Tables*

* State tables reflecting final 2015 allocations and 2016 and 2017 estimates are posted on the Department’s Web 

page at: http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/statetables/index.html
IMPACT AID

Appropriation s L angu age

For carrying out programs of financial assistance to federally affected schools authorized by 

title [VIII]VII of the ESEA, $1,305,603,000, of which $1,168,233,000 shall be for basic support 

payments under section [8003]7003(b), $48,316,000 shall be for payments for children with 

disabilities under section [8003]7003(d),1 $17,406,000, to remain available for obligation through 

September 30, 2018, shall be for construction under section [8007(a), $66,813,000 shall be for 

Federal property payments under section 8002, and $4,835,00]7007(b) 2, 3 and $71,648,000, to 

remain available until expended, shall be for facilities maintenance under section [8008]7008.

4

Provided, That for purposes of computing the amount of a payment for an eligible local 

educational agency under section [8003]7003(a) for school year [2015-2016]2016-2017, 

children enrolled in a school of such agency that would otherwise be eligible for payment under 

section [8003]7003(a)(1)(B) of such Act, but due to the deployment of both parents or legal 

guardians, or a parent or legal guardian having sole custody of such children, or due to the 

death of a military parent or legal guardian while on active duty (so long as such children reside 

on Federal property as described in section [8003]7003(a)(1)(B)), are no longer eligible under 

such section, shall be considered as eligible students under such section, provided such 

students remain in average daily attendance at a school in the same local educational agency 

they attended prior to their change in eligibility status.5

] (Department of Education 

Appropriations Act, 2016.)

NOTE

Each language provision that is followed by a footnote reference is explained in the Analysis of Language Provisions 

and Changes document, which follows the appropriation language.

B-1
IMPACT AID

Analysis of Language Provisions and Changes

Language Provision Explanation

1 $1,305,603,000, of which $1,168,233,000 

shall be for basic support payments under 

section [8003]7003(b), $48,316,000 shall be 

for payments for children with disabilities 

under section [8003]7003(d)

This language specifies funding levels for 

basic support payments and payments for 

children with disabilities. 

2 $17,406,000, to remain available for 

obligation through September 30, 2018, shall 

be for construction under section

[8007(a)...]7007(b)

This language specifies the amount for 

construction, makes it available only for 

competitive awards, and makes the funds 

available for 2 years, to provide sufficient 

time to hold the competition.

3 [...$66,813,000 shall be for Federal 

property payments under section 8002...]

This language, which specifies the amount 

for Federal property payments, is deleted 

because the request does not propose 

funding for this program.

4 $71,648,000, to remain available until 

expended, shall be for facilities maintenance 

under section [8008]7008:

This language provides funds for the 

maintenance and repair of federally owned 

school facilities on a “no-year” basis because 

these activities typically require several years 

to initiate and complete.

B-2
IMPACT AID

Analysis of Language Provisions and Changes

Language Provision Explanation

5 Provided, That for purposes of computing 

the amount of a payment for an eligible local 

educational agency under section 

[8003]7003(a) for school year [2015-

2016]2016-2017, children enrolled in a 

school of such agency that would otherwise 

be eligible for payment under section 

[8003]7003(a)(1)(B) of such Act, but due to 

the deployment of both parents or legal 

guardians, or a parent or legal guardian 

having sole custody of such children, or due 

to the death of a military parent or legal 

guardian while on active duty (so long as 

such children reside on Federal property as 

described in section [8003]7003(a)(1)(B)), 

are no longer eligible under such section, 

shall be considered as eligible students 

under such section, provided such students 

remain in average daily attendance at a 

school in the same local educational agency 

they attended prior to their change in 

eligibility status.

This language provides continued eligibility 

for students affected by the deployment or 

death of their military parent so long as the 

children attend school in the same LEA they 

attended prior to the parent’s death or 

deployment.

B-3
IMPACT AID

Appropriation, Adjustments and Transfers

(dollars in thousands)

Appropriation/Adjustments/Transfers 2015 2016 2017

Discretionary:

Discretionar y Appropriation .................................................... $1,288,603 $1,305,603 $1,305,603

Total, discretionary appropriation ................ 1,288,603 1,305,603 1,305,603

B-4
IMPACT AID

Summary of Changes

(dollars in thousands)

2016............................................................................................ $1,305,603

2017............................................................................................ 1,305,603

Net change .......................................................... 0

Increases: 2016 base

Change 

from base

Program:

Increase funding for Facilities Maintenance to allow the 

Department to make nearly all repairs and upgrades to the 

11 remaining schools for which it retains financial 

responsibility. $4,835 +66,813

Subtotal, increases +66,813

Decreases: 2016 base

Change

from base

Program:

Eliminate funding for Payments for Federal Property, which

are payments made without regard to the presence of 

federally connected children. 66,813 -66,813

Subtotal, decreases -66,813

Net change 0

B-5
IMPACT AID

Authorizing Legislation

(dollars in thousands)

Activity

2016

Authorized

footnote

2016

Estimate

footnote

2017 Authorized footnote2017

Request

footnote

Payments for federally connected children:

Payments for federall y connected childr en:Basic support payments (ESEA-VII-7003(b) and (e)) 0

1

$1,168,233 $1,151,233 $1,168,233

Payments for federall y connected childr en:Payments for children with disabilities

(ESEA-VII-7003(d)) 01 48,316 48,316 48,316

Facilities maintenance: (ESEA-VII-7008) 0

1

4,835 4,835 71,648

Construction (ESEA-VII-7007) 0

1,2

17,406 17,406217,406

Payments for Federal property (ESEA-VII-7002) 0

1

 66,813 66,813 0

Total definite authorization 0 1,288,603

Total annual appropriation 1,305,603 1,305,603

1

 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2008; the program is authorized in fiscal year 2016 through appropriations language. 2

 The statute provides that 40 percent of the funds appropriated for Construction under section 7007 shall be used to make formula payments under 

section 7007(a) and 60 percent shall be used to make competitive awards under section 7007(b).

B-6
IMPACT AID

Appropriations History

(dollars in thousands)

Year

Budget 

Estimate 

to Congress

House 

AllowanceFoot

-

note

Senate 

AllowanceFoot

-

note AppropriationF

o

o

t

2008 $1,228,100 $1,278,453 $1,248,453 $1,240,717

2009 1,240,718 1,290,7181 1,240,7181 1,265,718

Recovery Act Supplemental 

(P.L. 111-5) 0 100,000 100,000 100,000

2010 1,265,718 1,290,718 1,265,7182 1,276,183

2011 1,276,183 1,276,1833 1,296,1832 1,273,631

2012 1,276,183 1,308,6315 1,273,6315 1,291,186

2013 1,224,239 1,291,1866 1,291,1866 1,223,6494

2014 1,224,239 N/A7 1,290,9452 1,288,603

2015 1,221,790 N/A7 1,288,6038 1,288,603

2016 1,288,603 1,298,6039 1,288,6039 1,305,603

2017 1,305,603

1 The levels for the House and Senate allowances reflect action on the regular annual 2009 appropriations bill, 

which proceeded in the 110th Congress only through the House Subcommittee and the Senate Committee. 2 The level for the Senate allowance reflects Committee action only. 3 The level for the House allowance reflects the House-passed full-year continuing resolution. 4 The level for appropriation reflects the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 

2011 (P.L. 112-110). 5 The level for the House allowance reflects an introduced bill; the level for the Senate allowance reflects Senate 

Committee action only. 6 The level for the House and Senate allowances reflect action on the regular annual 2013 appropriations bill, 

which proceeded in the 112th Congress only through the House Subcommittee and the Senate Committee. 7 The House allowance is shown as N/A because there was no Subcommittee action. 8 The level for the Senate Allowance reflects Senate Subcommittee action only. 9 The levels for House and Senate allowances reflect action on the regular annual 2016 appropriations bill, which 

proceeded in the 114th Congress only through the House Committee and Senate Committee.

B-7
IMPACT AID

Significant Items in FY 2016 Appropriations Reports

Item description

Senate: The Committee is concerned that the Department took approximately 18 months 

for its appeal of an administrative law judge's decision that Central Kitsap school 

district is eligible for payments under the Heavily Impact Aid program in fiscal 

year 2010. The Committee believes that such delays create avoidable hardship 

for school districts and the students they serve. The Committee directs the 

Department to provide a report not later than 30 days after enactment of this act 

identifying specific steps going forward that the Department will take to prevent 

any other school district or institution from having to endure such avoidable 

delays.

Response: The Department has determined that preparing the requested report will require 

additional time, and will consult with the Committee on the process and timing for 

submitting the report.

B-8
Summary of Request

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEAR 2017 PRESIDENT'S BUDGET

(in thousands of dollars)

Click here for accessible version 

Amount Percent

Impact Aid (ESEA VII)

1. Payments for federally connected children (section 7003):

(a) Basic support payments (section 7003(b)) D 1,151,233 1,168,233 1,168,233 0 0.00%

(b) Payments for children with disabilities (section 7003(d)) D 48,316 48,316 48,316 0 0.00%

Subtotal 1,199,549 1,216,549 1,216,549 0 0.00%

2. Facilities maintenance (section 7008) D 4,835 4,835 71,648 66,813 1381.86%

3. Construction (section 7007) D 17,406 17,406 17,406 0 0.00%

4. Payments for Federal property (section 7002) D 66,813 66,813 0 (66,813) -100.00%

Total D 1,288,603 1,305,603 1,305,603 0 0.00%

NOTES: D = discretionary program; M = mandatory program; FY = fiscal year 

Detail may not add to totals due to rounding. 

2017 President's Budget

2016 Compared to 2016 Appropriation

Account, Program and Activity Appropriation

Category 

Code

2015 

Appropriation

2017 President's 

Budget

B-9
IMPACT AID

Summary of Request

The Impact Aid program provides financial assistance to school districts affected by Federal 

activities. The presence of certain children living on Federal property across the country can 

place a financial burden on the local educational agencies (LEAs) that educate them because 

such property is exempt from local property taxes, denying LEAs access to the primary source 

of revenue used by most communities to finance education. Impact Aid helps replace the lost 

local revenue that would otherwise be available to LEAs to pay for the education of these 

children.

The Administration requests $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2017 for Impact Aid payment authorities, 

including:

• $1.168 billion for Basic Support Payments on behalf of federally connected children. 

These funds provide grants for both regular Basic Support Payments and Basic Support 

Payments for Heavily Impacted LEAs.

• $48.3 million for Payments for Children with Disabilities. These payments are made on 

behalf of federally connected children with disabilities in order to help eligible LEAs meet the 

mandate under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to provide a free appropriate 

public education to all children with disabilities.

• $71.6 million for Facilities Maintenance. The Department of Education owns and 

maintains 11 school facilities that originally were built to enable LEAs and the Department of 

Defense to educate federally connected students. The request would enable the 

Department of Education to make emergency repairs to the remaining school buildings and 

complete the transfer of these schools to LEAs.

• $17.4 million for Construction payments to LEAs, with appropriations language that would 

require all funds to be awarded competitively. LEAs generally pay for most of their school 

construction costs using local, as opposed to State and Federal, resources and rely on 

property taxes to finance these costs. Competitive grants assist federally affected LEAs that 

do not have access to those local resources in making emergency repairs and renovations 

and modernizing schools.

No funds are requested for Payments for Federal Property. This authority provides payments 

to LEAs without regard to the presence of federally connected children and, therefore, does not 

necessarily support the provision of educational services for these children.

B-10
IMPACT AID

Activities:

Payments for federally connected children:

Basic support payments

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, Title VII, section 7003(b) 

and (e))

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2017 Authorization: $1,151,233

Budget Authority:

2016 2017 Change

$1,168,233 $1,168,233 0

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Impact Aid Basic Support Payments program is authorized under the Elementary and 

Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act 

(ESSA). The recently passed ESSA made multiple changes to eligibility criteria and the 

payment formula.

Impact Aid Basic Support Payments compensate local educational agencies (LEAs) for the 

expense of educating federally connected children. In communities across the country, the 

presence of Federal activities can both increase the number of students and decrease the local 

property tax base, which is the major source of revenue for education in most LEAs. Basic 

Support Payments go into the general funds of these LEAs, which use them for such expenses 

as teacher salaries, computers, curricular materials, regular and special instruction programs, 

and utilities.

The Impact Aid statute authorizes Basic Support Payments to LEAs on behalf of the following 

categories of federally connected students:

(A) students who live on Federal property with a parent employed on Federal property 

situated in whole or in part within the boundaries of the LEA, or with a parent who is a foreign 

military officer accredited by a foreign government;

(B) students who live on Federal property and who have a parent on active duty in the 

uniformed services of the United States;

(C) students who live on certain Indian lands;

(D) students who do not live on Federal property but who have a parent on active duty in 

the uniformed services of the United States, or a parent who is a foreign military officer 

accredited by a foreign government;

(E) students who reside in a low-rent housing project assisted under the United States 

Housing Act of 1937;

B-11
IMPACT AID

Basic support payments

(F) students who live on Federal property but otherwise do not fit into any of the categories 

described above; and

(G) students who do not reside on Federal property but who have a parent employed on 

Federal property situated in whole or in part in the same State as the LEA.

An LEA that claims students living on Indian lands under category (C) is required to consult with 

the parents and tribes of these children concerning their education and to ensure that these 

children receive equal educational opportunities. The LEA must develop and file with the 

Department a set of Indian policies and procedures describing how it meets this requirement. 

Children living on Indian lands receive a weight of 1.25 per student in the Basic Support 

Payments formula, higher than the weights assigned to other categories of federally connected 

children. These children often are disadvantaged and live in isolated rural areas, factors that 

can result in increased costs to the school districts that serve them.

The law authorizes two different types of Basic Support Payments: Regular Basic Support 

Payments and Basic Support Payments for Heavily Impacted LEAs. Under the statutory 

payment formula, funds are used first to make the maximum payment for each of the heavily 

impacted LEAs. The remaining funds are used to make regular Basic Support Payments.

Regular Basic Support Payments (section 7003(b)(1))

An LEA is eligible for Basic Support Payments only if the total number of eligible federally 

connected students described above is at least 400 in average daily attendance or 3 percent of 

total average daily attendance. In order to receive payments on behalf of students in categories 

(F) and/or (G) (also referred to as "civilian b's"), an LEA must have at least 1,000 such students 

in average daily attendance, or the number of such students must equal or exceed 10 percent of 

the total average daily attendance in that LEA.

To determine the maximum payment an LEA may receive, the statute specifies weights for each 

category of federally connected students. The weighted student count is multiplied by the 

greatest of four local contribution rates (LCRs), which are intended to represent the local share 

of the cost of educating these students, to determine the LEA's maximum payment. The four 

LCR options are:

• one-half of the U.S. average per-pupil expenditure for education;

• one-half of the State per-pupil expenditure (SPPE);

• the LCR of comparable LEAs in the State; and

• the product of the SPPE and the local contribution percentage (the percentage of education 

expenditures that comes from the local level) in the State.

If appropriations are insufficient to make maximum payments in full, the formula reduces 

maximum payments by multiplying them by a percentage, called the Learning Opportunity 

Threshold (LOT) percentage, which is the sum of:

B-12
IMPACT AID

Basic support payments

• the percentage of the LEA’s students in average daily attendance who are federally 

connected; and

• the LEA’s maximum payment under the Basic Support Payments formula as a percentage 

of total current expenditures.

The sum of these two percentages may not exceed 100 percent. In addition to this maximum 

LOT, LEAs with an enrollment of fewer than 1,000 students and per-pupil expenditure below the 

State or national average receive a minimum LOT of 40 percent. A LOT percentage, when 

multiplied by a maximum payment, results in a LOT payment. If the appropriation is insufficient 

to provide LOT payments in full, the formula ratably reduces these payments. If the level of 

funding exceeds the level needed to fund LOT payments, but is insufficient to provide maximum 

payments to all LEAs, the formula ratably increases these payments above the LOT. However,

these ratably increased LOT payments may not exceed an LEA’s maximum payment.

Basic Support Payments for Heavily Impacted LEAs (section 7003(b)(2))

The ESSA made multiple changes to eligibility criteria and payment formulas for Basic Support 

Payments for Heavily Impacted LEAs including eliminating the distinction between new and 

continuing LEAs. Under the newly amended ESEA, a “heavily impacted” LEA must fall into one 

of the following five categories:

• An LEA with no taxing authority and whose boundaries are the same as a Federal military 

installation or an island property designated by the Secretary of the Interior as being held in 

trust by the Federal Government;

• An LEA with a tax rate for general fund purposes that is 95 percent or greater of the average 

tax rate of comparable LEAs in the State, has a total number of eligible federally connected 

students described above that is at least 45 percent of the LEA’s total student enrollment, 

and has an average per-pupil expenditure that is (1) less than 125 percent of the SPPE if 

their total enrollment is at least 500 students or (2) less than 150 percent of the SPPE or the 

average per-pupil expenditure of 3 or more comparable LEAs in the State if their total 

enrollment is less than 500;

• An LEA with a tax rate for general fund purposes that is 125 percent or greater of the 

average tax rate for comparable LEAs in that State and has a total number of eligible 

federally connected students described above that is at least 30 percent or at least 20 

percent for LEAs with at least 65 percent of non-federally connected children eligible to 

receive free or reduced price lunch;

• An LEA that has a total student enrollment of at least 25,000 of which, at least 50 percent 

are federally connected students as described above and at least 5,000 are federally 

connected students who live on Federal property with a parent employed on Federal 

property situated in whole or in part within the boundaries of the LEA, or live with a parent 

who is a foreign military officer accredited by a foreign government or who have a parent on 

active duty in the uniformed services of the United States;

B-13
IMPACT AID

Basic support payments

• An LEA with a tax rate for general fund purposes that is 95 percent or greater of the average 

tax rate of comparable LEAs in the State, that was eligible for a heavily impacted payment in 

FY 2001, has a total number of “civilian b’s” greater than or equal 35 percent of the LEA’s 

total student enrollment, and a total enrollment of less than 350 students or has an average 

per-pupil expenditure that is less than 125 percent of the SPPE if total enrollment is at least 

500 students or less than 150 percent of the SPPE or the average per-pupil expenditure of 

3 or more comparable LEAs in the State if total enrollment is less than 500.

An LEA that no longer meets the eligibility requirements above will continue to receive a heavily 

impacted payment in the first year the LEA falls out of eligibility but must be eligible for two 

consecutive years before returning to heavily impacted status.

The “heavily impacted” maximum payments are based on a formula that is similar to the regular 

Basic Support Payments but that produces much larger payments for the eligible LEAs. Under 

the formula for heavily impacted LEAs, LEAs receive funds on behalf of students in categories 

(F) and (G) (also referred to as civilian “b’s”) even if the number of those students falls below the 

threshold of 1,000 students or 10 percent that applies to regular Basic Support Payments. 

Moreover, many recipients’ payments are based on substantially higher weights for federally 

connected students than apply to regular payments for the same types of students. Heavily 

impacted LEAs receive higher weights for their federally connected students based on the 

number of students in the LEA, the composition of the students within the LEA, or a combination 

of the two. For instance, federally connected students receive weights ranging from .05 to 

1.35 under the regular Basic Support Payments formula, but receive a weight of 1.75 per 

student under the Basic Support Payments for Heavily Impacted LEAs formula, provided that 

the LEA has 100 or fewer federally connected students.

The local contribution rates (LCRs) are also much higher under the heavily impacted formula. 

They are the higher of:

• 80 percent of the U.S. average per-pupil expenditure for education; or

• 80 percent of the SPPE.

Heavily Impacted LEAs receive their maximum Heavily Impacted payments so long as funding 

is sufficient to cover the maximum payments for these LEAs and funds are sufficient to fully fund 

LOT payments for regular LEAs under section 7003(b)(1). If the appropriation is insufficient to 

provide LOT payments in full for regular LEAs under section 7003(b)(1), Basic Support 

Payments to heavily impacted LEAs are ratably reduced by the same percentage as payments 

to regular LEAs.

The reauthorized program also includes new hold-harmless language that applies to all eligible 

LEAs (regular and Heavily Impacted). An LEA with a payment that decreases by 20 percent or 

more from the previous year will receive 90 percent of the previous year’s payment. In the 

following year, the LEA will receive no less than 85 percent of the previous year’s payment. And 

in the third year following the determination of a 20 percent decrease in payment, the LEA will 

receive no less than 80 percent of the previous year’s payment.

B-14
IMPACT AID

Basic support payments

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands) footnote

2012 ................................................................................$1,153,540

2013 ..................................................................................1,093,203

2014 ..................................................................................1,151,233

2015 ..................................................................................1,151,233

2016 ..................................................................................1,168,233

FY 2017 BUDGET REQUEST

The Department requests $1.168 billion for Basic Support Payments, the same as the 

2016 level. Impact Aid Basic Support Payments compensate local educational agencies (LEAs) 

for the local share of the cost of educating federally connected students. The request includes 

appropriations language that overrides the authorization level provided for this program in the 

Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended. The Administration will also seek to 

continue appropriations language enacted in 2016 that provides continued eligibility for students 

affected by the deployment or death of their military parents, ensuring greater consistency and 

support for children adversely affected by ongoing military action overseas.

The request recognizes that the so-called “a” students (Indian, military, and civilian)—primarily 

students who reside on Indian lands or who reside on and whose parents work on Federal 

property—represent a major financial expense for LEAs that must educate them. Because 

federally owned land and Indian lands are exempt from local taxes, LEAs lack the ability to raise 

funds to educate these students using property taxes, which are the primary source of local 

revenue for public education costs.

Although the presence of the so-called “b” students (military, civilian, and low-rent housing) 

residing on, or whose parents work on, private property does not create the same financial 

burden for LEAs, it is still significant. The families of military “b’s” pay property taxes on their

residences but typically pay little in sales tax and, because of the Soldiers and Sailors Relief 

Act, often do not pay income taxes to their State or locality of residence. While all types of “b” 

students either reside on, or have parents who work on, property that the district cannot tax, the 

education of children who reside in low-rent housing is costly to districts because of the need for 

additional academic assistance and other supports often required for students from low-income 

families.

The 2017 request level would be sufficient to maintain the Department’s commitment to more 

than 750,000 federally connected students. While LEAs may expend their payments for either 

current operations or capital costs, the program’s formula is designed to compensate LEAs for 

current expenditures for educating federally connected students. Most districts report that they 

use Basic Support Payments for payroll and general operating expenditures.

B-15
IMPACT AID

Basic support payments

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES 

(amounts in whole dollars)

Output Measures 2015 2016 2017

All eligible LEAs

All eligibl e LEAs:Number of LEAs receiving payments 1,091 1,091 1,091

All eligibl e LEAs:Range of payments $154–

53,952,631

$155–

54,534,000

$157–

55,195,457

Regular LEAs

Regular LEAs:Number of LEAs receiving payments 1,063 1,063 1,063

Regular LEAs :Range of payments $154–

41,123,635

$155–

41,566,765

$157–

42,070,939

Heavily impacted LEAs

Heavil y Impacted LEAs:Number of LEAs receiving payments 28 28 28

Heavil y Impacted LEAs:Range of payments $829,009–

53,952,631

$837,942–

54,534,000

$848,105–

55,195,457

Number of federally connected students

Federall y connected students: In all eligible LEAs 756,446 756,446 756,446

Federall y connected students: In regular LEAs 693,163 697,658 697,658

Federall y connected students: In heavily impacted LEAs 63,283 58,788 58,788

Total payments for students

Payments: In regular LEAs $879,082,049 $900,502,932 $911,425,372

Payments: In heavily impacted LEAs $272,150,951 $267,730,068 $270,807,628

Average payment per student

Aver age payment: In all LEAs $1,522 $1,526 $1,544

Aver age payment: In regular LEAs $1,268 $1,291 $1,306

Aver age payment: In heavily impacted LEAs $4,301 $4,554 $4,607

Percentage of LEAs 

by size of payment

 by size of payment: $1–4,999 5.2% 5.2% 5.1%

 by size of payment: $5,000–49,999 32.6% 32.4% 32.4%

 by size of payment: $50,000–499,999 38.9% 39.0% 38.9%

 by size of payment: $500,000 or more 23.3% 23.4% 23.7%

Total dollar amount of payments 

by size of payment

$1–4,999 $160,864 $162,597 $159,566

$5,000–49,999 $7,718,689 $7,701,329 $7,699,138

$50,000–499,999 $79,162,197 $79,614,867 $79,168,358

$500,000 or more $1,064,191,251 $1,080,754,208 $1,081,205,938

B-16
IMPACT AID

Basic support payments

Output Measures 2015 2016 2017

Average payment per child 

by percentage of federally

connected children

 all y connected chil dren: 0–19 percent $225 $228 $230

 all y connected chil dren: 20–39 percent $816 $824 $834

 all y connected chil dren: 40–59 percent $3,040 $2,961 $2,997

 all y connected chil dren: 60–79 percent $6,061 $6,135 $6,209

 all y connected chil dren: 80 percent or more $7,199 $7,291 $7,380

Number of students

“a” students1 219,437 219,437 219,437

Number of: Indian “a” students 112,903 112,903 112,903

Number of: Military “a” students 104,479 104,479 104,479

Number of: Civilian “a” students 2,055 2,055 2,055

“b” students2 537,009 537,009 537,009

Number of: Military “b” students 244,520 244,520 244,520

Number of: Low-rent housing “b” students 124,322 124,322 124,322

Number of: Civilian “b” students 168,167 168,167 168,167

Total payments

“a” students1 $1,023,841,960 $1,036,705,094 $1,038,957,667

Number of: Indian “a” students $618,338,108 $626,138,137 $633,732,733

Number of: Military “a” students $401,736,597 $406,759,108 $401,370,898

Number of: Civilian “a” students $3,767,255 $3,807,849 $3,854,036

“b” students2 $127,391,040 $131,527,906 $129,275,333

Number of: Military “b” students $99,656,813 $102,190,840 $100,926,837

Number of: Low-rent housing “b” students $7,927,749 $8,073,540 $8,085,766

Number of: Civilian “b” students $19,806,478 $21,263,526 $20,262,730

Average payments per child

“a” students1 $4,666 $4,724 $4,735

Aver age payments per Indian “a” students $5,477 $5,546 $5,613

Aver age payments per Military “a” students $3,845 $3,893 $3,842

Aver age payments per Civilian “a” students $1,833 $1,853 $1,875

“b” students2 $237 $245 $241

Aver age payments per Military “b” students $408 $418 $413

Aver age payments per Low-rent housing “b” students $64 $65 $65

Aver age payments per Civilian “b” students $118 $126 $120

Cost of fully funding 

maximum payments $2,017,018,456 $2,008,722,357 $2,008,722,357

NOTE: All figures are estimates based on 2015 student count and payment data as of January 2016.

B-17
IMPACT AID

Basic support payments

1 “a” students are generally those students who live on Indian lands or whose parents both live and work on 

Federal property, as defined in subsections 7003(a)(1)(A)-(C). 2 “b” students are generally those students who either reside on Federal land with their parents or whose parents 

work on Federal land, as defined in subsections 7003(a)(1)(D)-(G). 

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on 

the cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in 

FY 2017 and future years, and the resources and efforts invested by those served by this 

program.

Goal: To provide appropriate financial assistance for federally connected children who 

present a genuine burden to their school districts.

Objective: Properly compensate districts for revenue lost due to a Federal presence.

Measure: The percentage of Basic Support Payment recipients (excluding districts that receive 

payments for “heavily impacted” districts) that have per-pupil expenditures between 80 and 

120 percent of their State average per-pupil expenditure.

Year Target Actual

2012 67% 64.2%

2013 67 63.6

2014 67 63.3

2015 67

2016 67

2017 67

B-18
IMPACT AID

Basic support payments

Measure: The percentage of Basic Support Payment recipients designated as “heavily 

impacted” districts that have per-pupil expenditures between 80 and 120 percent of their State 

average per-pupil expenditure.

Year Target Actual

2012 75% 70.4%

2013 75 63.0

2014 75 63.7

2015 75

2016 75

2017 75

Additional information: These measures, developed by the Department in 2008, serve as 

proxies for how well Impact Aid payments make up for the revenue lost due to the presence of 

federally connected students. Districts spending more than 20 percent above or below the 

State average are likely being under- or over-compensated. In 2014, 29.3 percent of regular 

districts spent more than 120 percent of the State average while 23.3 percent of heavily 

impacted districts spent more than 120 percent of the State average. Targets were set using 

2006 data as the baseline. Data compiled for 2014 show that the target was not met for heavily 

impacted districts or for the regular districts. Data for 2015 will be available once final payments 

have been made.

B-19
IMPACT AID

Basic support payments

Efficiency measures

Measure: The number of requests to forgive overpayments of Basic Support Payments.

Year Target Actual

2012 10 4

2013 10 4

2014 10 1

2015 10 0

2016 10

2017 10

Additional information: This performance measure provides a proxy for calculating the extent 

to which the Department’s payments to nearly 1,100 LEAs are accurate. The data show that 

the accuracy of payments has been very good in recent years. In 2015, there were 0 requests 

from LEAs for overpayment forgiveness.

Measure: The percentage of eligible applicants that receive initial Basic Support Payments 

within 60 days after the enactment of an appropriation.

Year Target Actual

2012 90% 91%

2013 90 99

2014 90 97

2015 90 90

2016 90

2017 90

Additional information: This measure tracks the timeliness of Basic Support Payments made 

by the Department. The Department has successfully met and exceeded the performance 

target for 4 consecutive years, including the most recent year, fiscal year 2015.

Other Performance Information

A study of the Impact Aid program, published in 2007, examined the financial burdens that 

school districts face due to a Federal presence and how well Impact Aid funds are targeted to 

those affected districts. While targeting of funds to the districts with the greatest financial need 

was found to be poor overall, the analysis found better results with models that excluded heavily 

impacted districts and districts with Indian lands.

The Department contracted for additional analyses in 2008, published in 2010, that expanded 

on the previous study by examining the extra costs of educating students living on Indian lands, 

determining the impact of the Local Contribution Rates on the formula allocations, and 

developing an improved model to track the performance of the funding formula. The study 

found that districts serving students living on Indian lands face higher costs of education 

associated with higher need, due to many of the same challenges that districts serving other 

B-20
IMPACT AID

Basic support payments

low-income populations face as well as challenges unique to Native American populations, 

including geographic isolation and unique cultural needs. In looking at the various local 

contribution rate options that exist in the current Basic Support Payments formula, the study 

found that the elimination of the national average per-pupil spending as a local contribution rate 

would narrow the difference in per-pupil spending between Impact Aid districts and comparable 

non-Impact Aid districts but would not improve the targeting of funds to districts with the greatest 

need.

B-21
IMPACT AID

Payments for children with disabilities

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, Title VII, section 7003(d))

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2017 Authorization: $48,316

Budget Authority: 

2016 2017 Change

$48,316 $48,316 0

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates that local educational agencies

(LEAs) provide a free appropriate public education to students with disabilities, whose 

educational costs are generally higher than those of other students. Payments for Children with 

Disabilities provides supplemental assistance to LEAs that have a reduced local revenue base 

due to a Federal presence by providing a portion of the cost of educating federally connected 

students with disabilities that, in other LEAs, is met with local funds.

ESEA section 7003(d)(1) authorizes payments to LEAs that meet the eligibility requirements 

under the Basic Support Payments authority for the following categories of federally connected 

students who are eligible for services under the IDEA:

(A) students who live on Federal property with a parent who is a foreign military officer 

accredited by a foreign government;

(B) students who live on Federal property and who have a parent on active duty in the 

uniformed services of the United States;

(C) students who live on Indian lands; and

(D) students who do not live on Federal property but who have a parent on active duty in 

the uniformed services of the United States or a parent who is a foreign military officer 

accredited by a foreign government.

Available funds are paid to LEAs based on the number of eligible students with disabilities 

enrolled in each LEA, except that a student in category (D) receives one-half of the weight 

provided for students in categories (A), (B), and (C). Funds are ratably distributed based on the 

weighted student count.

LEAs that receive payments under this authority must use the funds to provide the students who 

are counted with a free appropriate public education in accordance with the IDEA. These 

payments are intended to help pay the "excess costs" of educating these students (i.e., those 

costs that exceed the cost of educating a student without a disability).

B-22
IMPACT AID

Payments for children with disabilities

No changes were made to this authority under the recent reauthorization of the ESEA.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2012 .....................................................................................$48,413

2013 .......................................................................................45,881

2014 .......................................................................................48,316

2015 .......................................................................................48,316

2016 .......................................................................................48,316

FY 2017 BUDGET REQUEST

The Department requests $48.3 million for Payments for Children with Disabilities for fiscal year 

2017, the same as the 2016 level. These payments would be made on behalf of federally 

connected children with disabilities in order to help eligible LEAs meet the mandate under the 

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to provide a free appropriate public education 

to all children with disabilities.

Payments for Children with Disabilities help federally affected LEAs provide the special 

education services required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. A Department 

publication, “What Are We Spending on Special Education Services in the United States, 1999–

2000,” estimated the cost of educating a student with a disability to be about twice the amount 

needed for the typical regular education student with no special needs. In 2017, using the 

national average per-pupil expenditure as the measure of excess cost of educating a federally 

connected student with a disability, the combination of IDEA funds and Payments for Children 

with Disabilities would provide, on average, 24 percent of the excess cost to eligible LEAs. The 

supplemental funding under this authority is justified because federally affected LEAs are 

unable to tax Federal property even though they educate children with disabilities who reside 

with their parents on Federal lands.

B-23
IMPACT AID

Payments for children with disabilities

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES

(amounts in whole dollars)

Output Measures 2015 2016 2017

Number of LEAs receiving payments 856 856 856

Range of payments $479–

1,253,510

$479–

1,253,510

$479–

1,253,510

Percentage of LEAs 

by size of payment

e of LEAs by size of payment: $1–4,999 18.8% 18.8% 18.8%

e of LEAs by size of payment: $5,000–19,999 33.9% 33.9% 33.9%

e of LEAs by size of payment: $20,000–99,999 33.8% 33.8% 33.8%

e of LEAs by size of payment: $100,000 or more 13.5% 13.5% 13.5%

Total dollar amount of payments 

by size of payment

 ts by size of payment: $1–4,999 $398,550 $398,550 $398,550

 ts by size of payment: $5,000–19,999 $3,423,786 $3,423,786 $3,423,786

 nts by size of payment: $20,000–99,999 $13,709,441 $13,709,441 $13,709,441

 ts by size of payment: $100,000 or more $30,784,223 $30,784,223 $30,784,223

Number of “a” students eligible1 30,112 30,112 30,112

Number of “b” students eligible2 22,502 22,502 22,502

Total eligible students 52,614 52,614 52,614

Total funding for “a” students $35,173,484 $35,173,484 $35,173,484

Total funding for “b” students $13,142,516 $13,142,516 $13,142,516

Average payment per “a” student $1,168 $1,168 $1,168

Average payment per “b” student $584 $584 $584

Average total payment per student3 $918 $918 $918

Average IDEA Grants to States

funding per student $1,742 $1,778 $1,777

Total average Federal

funding per student $2,660 $2,696 $2,695

NOTE: All figures are estimates based on 2015 student count and payment data as of January 2016.

1 “a” students are generally those students who live on Indian lands or whose parents both live and work on 

Federal property, as defined in subsections 7003(a)(1)(A)-(C). 2 “b” students are generally those students who either reside on Federal land with their parents or whose parents 

work on Federal land, as defined in subsections 7003(a)(1)(D)-(G). 3 Impact Aid Payments for Children with Disabilities.

B-24
IMPACT AID

Payments for children with disabilities

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on 

the cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in 

FY 2017 and future years, and the resources and efforts invested by those served by this 

program.

Efficiency measures

Measure: The number of requests to forgive overpayments of Payments for Children with 

Disabilities.

Year Target Actual

2012 10 4

2013 10 4

2014 10 1

2015 10 0

2016 10

2017 10

Additional information: This performance measure provides a proxy for calculating the extent 

to which the Department’s payments to nearly 800 LEAs are accurate. The data show the 

accuracy of payments has been very good in recent years. In 2015, there were 0 requests from 

LEAs for overpayment forgiveness.

Measure: The percentage of eligible applicants who receive initial Payments for Children with 

Disabilities within 60 days after the enactment of an appropriation.

Year Target Actual

2012 90% 91%

2013 90 99

2014 90 97

2015 90 90

2016 90

2017 90

Additional information: This measure tracks the timeliness of Payments for Children with 

Disabilities made by the Department. The Department has successfully met the performance

target for 4 consecutive years, including the most recent year, fiscal year 2015.

B-25
IMPACT AID

Facilities maintenance

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, Title VII, section 7008)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2017 Authorization: $4,835

Budget Authority: 

2016 2017 Change

$4,835 $71,648 +66,813

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Department of Education (ED) makes awards under section 7008 of the Elementary and 

Secondary Education Act (ESEA) for emergency repairs and for comprehensive capital 

improvements to schools that ED owns but that local educational agencies (LEAs) use to serve 

federally connected military dependent students. In addition, the law mandates that the 

Secretary transfer these facilities to the appropriate LEAs or other entities as soon as 

practicable. ED may not charge LEAs for the use of these school buildings and must gain an 

LEA's consent to accept them. Subject to these restrictions, ED may make the transfers on 

such terms as the Secretary deems appropriate. Funds for this program are available until 

expended.

Currently, the Department owns 23 schools that are on military bases and serve students whose 

parents are in the armed forces. Either the Department of Defense (DoD) or LEAs operate 

these schools. Since 1983, DoD has assumed financial responsibility for maintenance and 

renovation of many of these school facilities, which DoD operates as Domestic Dependents 

Elementary and Secondary Schools (DDESSs). The DoD is currently responsible for 

12 facilities while ED continues to be directly responsible for the other 11, which LEAs operate 

and use to educate military dependent students.

No changes were made to this authority under the recent reauthorization of the ESEA.

B-26
IMPACT AID

Facilities maintenance

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands) footnote

2012 .......................................................................................$4,845

2013 .........................................................................................4,591

2014 .........................................................................................4,835

2015 .........................................................................................4,835

2016 .........................................................................................4,835

FY 2017 BUDGET REQUEST

For 2017, the Administration requests $71.6 million for Facilities Maintenance, an increase of 

$66.8 million above the 2016 level. These funds would be used to upgrade and transfer school 

facilities currently owned by ED to LEAs, which can manage school buildings in their 

communities more effectively than the Federal Government. The Administration believes that 

the requested increase would allow the Department to make nearly all repairs and upgrades 

required to permit the transfer of the 11 remaining schools for which it retains financial 

responsibility to the LEAs that operate them. By requesting the full, or nearly full, cost for the 

remaining schools in fiscal year 2017, The Administration expects to save funds in the long 

term. The estimated costs of the repair and renovations often increase over time as the schools 

further deteriorate

Since fiscal year 2008, ED has completed the transfer to the Department of Defense (DoD), at 

no cost to ED, titles to 48 facilities that the DoD operates as Domestic Dependents Elementary 

and Secondary Schools (DDESSs), bringing the remaining number of schools owned by ED 

down to the current 23—12 operated by DoD and 11 operated by LEAs. ED is in the final 

stages of transferring to DoD the titles to the remaining 12 facilities funded and operated by 

DoD.

The 11 remaining school facilities owned by ED and operated by LEAs generally are in poor 

condition, and most LEAs are unwilling to accept the schools unless ED provides sufficient 

funds to the LEA to correct the problems. The increased funding proposed for 2017 would help 

address this concern and facilitate the transfer of these facilities to the LEAs. 

B-27
IMPACT AID

Facilities maintenance

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES

Output Measures 2015 2016 2017

Number of properties receiving 

emergency repairs 4 4–5 4–9

Number of facilities transferred (owned 

by ED and operated by LEAs) 1 2 6

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

The Department’s measure of progress for this program is the number of schools removed from 

the inventory of ED-owned facilities through transfers to LEAs. (The measure does not include 

no-cost transfers to DoD, as the maintenance of those schools is not supported through the 

program. However we will continue to track these DoD transfers until all of that inventory is 

accepted by DoD.) Since 1999, the number of schools for which the Department is responsible 

has decreased by 79 percent, from 53 to 11, thus reducing its responsibility for maintenance 

and renovation.

B-28
IMPACT AID

Construction

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, Title VII, section 7007)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2017 Authorization: $17,406

Budget Authority:

2016 2017 Change

$17,406 $17,406 0

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Department makes formula and competitive grants under Section 7007 to support school 

construction in local educational agencies (LEAs) that educate federally connected students or 

have federally owned land. The authorizing statute provides that 40 percent of appropriated 

funds must be used for formula grants under section 7007(a) and 60 percent for competitive 

grants under section 7007(b). However, Congress has routinely overridden this statutory 

requirement to require the use of all funds for either formula or competitive grants; for example, 

it required competitive grants in fiscal years 2012, 2013 and 2015, but formula grants in fiscal 

years 2014 and 2016. 

Formula grants (section 7007(a))

Three categories of LEAs are eligible for formula Construction grants:

• those in which the number of students living on Indian lands is at least 50 percent of the 

LEA’s total average daily attendance and that receive a regular Basic Support Payment;

• those in which the number of students with a parent in the uniformed services is at least 

50 percent of the LEA’s total average daily attendance and that receive a regular Basic 

Support Payment; and

• those that receive Basic Support Payments for Heavily Impacted LEAs.

Payments are determined by distributing half of the available funds among eligible LEAs based 

on each LEA’s share of the total weighted count of students living on Indian lands, as specified 

in the regular Basic Support Payments formula, and half of the available funds among eligible 

LEAs based on each LEA’s share of the total weighted count of students whose parents are in

the uniformed services, as specified in the regular Basic Support Payments formula.

Competitive grants (section 7007(b))

The authorizing statute establishes the following priorities for awarding competitive construction 

grants:

B-29
IMPACT AID

Construction

First priority is given to emergency grants for school districts that are eligible to receive 

payments under the Impact Aid Construction formula and either have little or no bonding 

capacity or are eligible to receive payments as a “heavily impacted” school district under the 

Basic Support Payments formula.

Second in priority are emergency grants for:

• school districts that receive a payment under the Basic Support Payment formula and: 

(1) have at least 40 percent federally connected students residing on Indian lands, have 

40 percent federally connected military students or have not less than 10 percent of the 

property in the school district exempt from State and local taxation under Federal law; (2) 

are at 75 percent or more of their limit of bonded indebtedness; and (3) have an equalized 

assessed value of property per student that is below the State average, and

• schools that: (1) are not operated by an LEA that would otherwise be eligible for an 

emergency grant; (2) have at least 40 percent federally connected students residing on 

Indian lands or 40 percent federally connected military students; and (3) are operated by an 

LEA that has used 75 percent or more of its limit of bonded indebtedness and has an 

equalized assessed value of property per student that is below the State average.

Third in priority are modernization grants for school districts that: (1) receive any type of Impact 

Aid payment; (2) are either “heavily impacted” or have little or no bonding capacity; and (3) have 

school facility needs resulting from the presence of the Federal Government.

Fourth in priority are modernization grants for: 

• school districts that either: (1) have at least 40 percent federally connected students 

residing on Indian lands, have 40 percent federally connected military students or have not 

less than 10 percent of the property in the school district exempt from State and local 

taxation under Federal law; (2) have used 75 percent or more of their limit of bonded 

indebtedness; and (3) have an equalized assessed value of property per student that is 

below the State average; or (1) receive an Impact Aid Payment for Federal Property; (2) 

have used 75 percent or more of their limit of bonded indebtedness; and (3) have an 

equalized assessed value of property per student that is below the State average, and

• schools that: (1) are not operated by an LEA that would otherwise be eligible for a 

modernization grant; (2) have at least 40 percent federally connected students residing on 

Indian lands or 40 percent federally connected military students; and (3) are operated by an 

LEA that has used 75 percent or more of its limit of bonded indebtedness and has an 

equalized assessed value of property per student that is below the State average.

Construction funds are awarded on a competitive basis under the four priorities listed above. 

Within each of the four priorities, grants are awarded based on:

• the LEA’s level of bonded indebtedness,

• the assessed value of real property per student in the LEA compared to the average 

assessed value of real property per student in the State,

B-30
IMPACT AID

Construction

• the tax rate for school purposes in the LEA compared to the average rate in the State,

• funds available for capital expenditures,

• the percentage of property that is not taxable due to a Federal presence, and

• the number and percentage of certain types of federally connected students.

In addition, emergency grants are awarded, in part, based on severity of emergency, and 

modernization grants are awarded, in part, based on the severity of the need for modernization.

Competitive grant funds for certain LEAs may not exceed: (1) 50 percent of the total cost of the 

project assisted; or (2) $4.0 million during any 4-year period. Since 2002, competitive grants 

have been awarded to districts only under the first priority. When the appropriation for 

Construction has included funding for competitive grants, funds have been made available for 

2 years.

No major changes were made to this authority by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, 

which reauthorized the ESEA.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands) footnote

2012 .....................................................................................$17,441

2013 .......................................................................................16,529

2014 .......................................................................................17,406

2015 .......................................................................................17,406

2016 .......................................................................................17,406

FY 2017 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2017, the Administration requests $17.4 million for Construction, the same as the 

2016 level. The request includes appropriations language that would require all funds to be 

used for competitive grants and to be available for 2 years. By awarding funds through a 

competitive process, the Department can ensure that districts with the greatest needs receive 

meaningful amounts of funding to make emergency repairs.

Because school construction is primarily financed from local funds, and because federally 

affected local educational agencies cannot tax certain lands, LEAs with large percentages of 

federally connected students need supplemental funds for construction. The competitive grants 

enable eligible districts to undertake emergency renovations and modernizations. Past projects 

have included replacement of elementary schools; purchase of water filtration systems; 

replacement of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems; repair of electrical systems; 

and replacement of faulty windows and roofs. The program is well-targeted because the 

eligibility pool is limited to some of the poorest districts in the Nation that are also heavily 

dependent on Federal funding for their operating and maintenance expenses.

B-31
IMPACT AID

Construction

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES

(amounts in whole dollars)

Output Measures 2015 2016 2017

Formula Grants 0 $17,406,000 0

r ants :Number of LEAs receiving formula 

payments 0 175 0

 Gr ants :Average LEA payment 0 $99,463 0

 Gr ants:Range of payments 0 $500-

1,800,000

0

 Gr ants:Average payment per student 0 $133 0

Competitive Grants $17,406,000 0 $17,406,000

ve Grants:Number of LEAs receiving competitive 

awards 7 0 6–10

ve Grants:Range of payments $504,280–

5,262,429

0 $60,000–

6,000,000

ve Grants:Peer review of new award applications $7,500 0 $7,500

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on 

the cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in 

FY 2017 and future years, and the resources and efforts invested by those served by this 

program.

Goal: To provide appropriate financial assistance for federally connected children who 

present a genuine burden to their school districts.

Objective: Improve the quality of public school facilities used to educate federally connected 

children.

B-32
IMPACT AID

Construction

Measure: The percentage of participating LEAs reporting that the overall condition of their 

school buildings is adequate.

Year Target Actual

2012 70% 74%

2013 70 62

2014 70 70

2015 70 74

2016 70

2017 70

Additional information: LEAs that received formula or competitive construction payments in 

the previous year are asked to rate the quality of their buildings on a 6-point scale in their 

application for Impact Aid Basic Support payments.

Efficiency measures

Measure: The average number of days elapsed between the initial Impact Aid competitive 

construction award and the LEAs’ awarding of contracts.

Year Target Actual

2012 250 158

2013 250 179

2014 250 N/A

2015 250

2016 250

2017 250

Additional information: This efficiency measure is a measure of the speed with which LEAs 

award construction contracts after the Department makes the initial competitive construction 

awards. There are no data for 2014 because the competitive grant program was not funded in

that year. The target has now been met for two consecutive competitions. The 2015 grant 

competition was completed in late 2015 so performance data will not be available until late 

2016 or early 2017.

B-33
IMPACT AID

Construction

Measure: The percentage of all formula construction payments made by July 31 of the 

application year.

Year Target Actual

2012 90% N/A

2013 90 N/A

2014 90 0

2015 90 N/A

2016 90

2017 90

Additional information: Prior to 2007, formula construction payments were not made until the 

end of the fiscal year. Since then, the Department has attempted to make awards earlier in the 

year so that LEAs will have access to funds during the summer, when most construction 

projects take place. Data are not shown for 2012, 2013 and 2015 because no funding was 

appropriated for formula grants for those years. In FY 2014, 94.2 percent of Construction 

payments were made on August 5th, 2014, just missing the deadline to count toward the target 

for that year.

 

B-34
IMPACT AID

Payments for Federal property

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, Title VII, section 7002)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2017 Authorization: $66,813

Budget Authority: 

2016 2017 Change

$66,813 0 -$66,813

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Department of Education makes Payments for Federal Property under section 7002(b) to 

LEAs that have lost at least 10 percent of the assessed value of their tax base due to the 

acquisition, since 1938, of real property by the United States Government. Section 7002 of the 

ESEA was recently amended by ESSA, which made small changes to eligibility provisions for 

specific LEAs and also made permanent the changes made by Section 563 of the National 

Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2013 (P.L. 112-239) regarding the determination of 

aggregate assessed value and the payment formula.

If fully funded, the formula would provide payments by multiplying the current levied local real 

property tax rate of the LEA (or, in financially dependent school districts, an imputed real 

property tax rate) by the current estimated taxable value of the Federal property.

In the absence of full funding, payments are based on a “hold-harmless” formula designed to 

preserve historic funding levels for individual LEAs.

• First, a “foundation payment” is made to eligible LEAs (e.g. those that are not substantially 

compensated by revenues from Federal property, and that meet the other eligibility criteria) 

that were also eligible in fiscal year 2009 in an amount that is equal to the greater of 

90 percent of the payment the LEA received in fiscal year 2009 and 90 percent of the 

average payment that the LEA received in fiscal years 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.

• Second, a special payment is made to the Highland Falls-Ft. Montgomery Central School 

District in New York, if it continues to meet the annual eligibility requirements.

• Third, from the remaining funds, a “foundation payment” is made to eligible LEAs that were 

not eligible in fiscal year 2009. The foundation payment for newly eligible LEAs since 

2009 is calculated as 90 percent of the eligible LEA’s maximum payment multiplied by the 

ratio of the appropriation to the total of all LEAs’ maximum payments in the most recent year 

in which payments have been completed.

• Fourth, any remaining funds are distributed based on prorated shares of maximum 

payments for the current year.

B-35
IMPACT AID

Payments for Federal property

Payments for Federal Property may not exceed either of two different caps placed on these 

payments. The first cap limits the combination of these payments and payments received under 

the Basic Support Payments program (7003(b)) to an LEA’s maximum regular Basic Support 

Payment or the maximum Payment for Federal Property, whichever is greater. The second cap 

reduces the payment in the event that the combination of the calculated payment and any 

revenue the LEA received from the Federal property exceeds the maximum payment. In the 

event that funds are reduced due to either of these caps and the formula is subject to the holdharmless provisions, the reduced funds are redistributed under the fourth payment step. For 

“old districts” (those with fiscal year 2009 eligibility) the two caps would only apply to remaining 

funds under the fourth step whereas a “new district” (those with post-2009 eligibility) would be 

limited by both caps under the third step in their first year of eligibility and under the fourth step 

for all years of eligibility.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands) footnote

2012 .....................................................................................$66,947

2013 .......................................................................................63,445

2014 .......................................................................................66,813

2015 .......................................................................................66,813

2016 .......................................................................................66,813

FY 2017 BUDGET REQUEST

The Administration requests no funds for Payments for Federal Property in 2017. It is the 

Administration’s policy to use available Impact Aid funds to help pay for the education of 

federally connected children and fund programs that serve federally connected children. 

Payments for Federal Property compensates LEAs for lost property tax revenue due the 

presence of Federal lands without regard to whether those districts educate any federally 

connected children as a result of the Federal presence.

When this authority was established in 1950, its purpose was to provide assistance to LEAs in 

which the Federal Government had imposed a substantial and continuing burden by acquiring a 

considerable portion of real property in the LEA. The law applied only to property acquired 

since 1938 because, in general, LEAs had been able to adjust to acquisitions that occurred 

before that time. The Administration believes that the majority of LEAs receiving assistance 

under this program have now had sufficient time—more than 60 years—to adjust to the removal 

of the property from their tax rolls.

In addition, many LEAs receiving funds under this authority do not meet the basic eligibility 

criteria established in the authorizing statute, typically because they consist of two or more 

LEAs that consolidated, at least one of which originally met the eligibility criterion of a loss of 

10 percent of the aggregate assessed value of real property removed from the tax rolls. In such 

cases, the consolidated LEAs are no longer demonstrably burdened by the historic loss of 

taxable property, and thus are not able to demonstrate a need for Federal funds.

B-36
IMPACT AID

Payments for Federal property

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES 

(amounts in whole dollars)

Output Measures 2015 2016 2017

Number of LEAs receiving payments 195 195 0

Average payment $342,630 $342,630 0

Range of payments $150–

5,000,000

$150–

5,000,000

0

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on 

the cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in 

FY 2017 and future years, and the resources and efforts invested by those served by this 

program.

Goal: To provide appropriate financial assistance for federally connected children who 

present a genuine burden to their school districts.

Objective: Manage Section 7002 Payments for Federal Property to disburse funds accurately 

and efficiently under the statutory formula.

Measure: The percentage of initial payments to eligible LEAs that are made by the end of the 

second quarter.

Year Target Actual

2012 75% 76%

2013 75 0

2014 75 8

2015 75 95

2016 75

Additional information: The long-term goal for this measure is to make 75 percent of initial 

payments to eligible LEAs by the end of the second quarter. The target was met in fiscal year 

2012, but in fiscal years 2013 and 2014 all initial payments were put on hold due to changes in 

the funding formula resulting from amendments made in the National Defense Authorization Act 

for fiscal year 2013. For fiscal year 2015, 95 percent of initial payments were made by the end 

of the second quarter, a significant improvement over 2013 and 2014. For fiscal years 2013

and 2014, all initial payments were put on hold due to changes in the funding formula resulting 

from amendments made in the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2013.

B-37
State Tables

B-38
B-39
B-40