The Impact Aid program has not been fully funded since 1969, meaning school districts do not receive all the funding for which they qualify under the program’s formulas. A key focus of NAFIS advocacy is appropriations—the decisions made by Congress about how the Federal government allocates resources—in an effort to increase funding. Advocacy efforts include a targeted focus on Impact Aid funding and on raising the caps on non-defense discretionary funding.
NAFIS engages throughout the budget and appropriations process, including the President’s budget request, congressional budget resolutions, subcommittee and committee appropriations bills, continuing resolutions, omnibus spending bills and more.
NAFIS funding requests, position statements and other resources include:
Recent Impact Aid Activity
FY25 House Dear Colleague Letter on Appropriations and Senate Dear Colleague Letter (5/17/24)
Sixty-four Representatives and forty-one Senators signed a bipartisan Dear Colleague letter supporting an investment in Impact Aid. The letter calls for strong and continued funding for all line items of the Impact Aid Program to ensure all federally impacted school districts can provide quality education.
NAFIS Submits Testimony to Senate Appropriations Subcommittee and House Appropriations Subcommittee (5/10/24)
NAFIS urges the Senate and House Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations Subcommittee to continue recognizing the Federal Government’s obligation to federally impacted communities as they work to set funding priorities for the U.S. Department of Education. The letter requests at least a $2 million increase for Federal Property, $65 million increase for Basic Support, $1.5 million increase for Construction and a $1.5 million increase for Children with Disabilities for FY 2025.
Funding Request for FY25 Appropriations (3/26/24)
NAFIS urges the Senate Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations Subcommittee to continue recognizing the Federal Government’s obligation to federally impacted communities as they work to set funding priorities for the U.S. Department of Education. The letter requests at least a $2 million increase for Federal Property, $65 million increase for Basic Support, $1.5 million increase for Construction and a $1.5 million increase for Children with Disabilities for FY 2025.
Funding Request for FY24 Appropriations (3/8/23)
NAFIS urges leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor-Health and Human Services-Education to continue to recognize the obligation to federally impacted communities and requests a $65 million increase for Basic Support, a $2 million increase for Federal Property, a $1.5 million increase for Children with Disabilities and a $1.5 million increase for Construction for FY24.
Additional NAFIS Activities
Sign-On Letter Urging the Highest Possible Funding for FY 2025 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill (5/6/24)
NAFIS joins nearly 700 organizations in a sign-on letter to leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees urging them to increase the allocation for the FY 2025 Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee bill to a level that ensures robust and sustained investments so that these programs can meet vital needs.
Sign-on Letter Urging Congress to Quickly Pass the FY22 Annual Spending Bills & Avoid a Long-Term CR (2/15/22)
NAFIS joins nearly 60 organizations on the Children’s Budget Coalition sign-on letter to Senate and House leadership urging Congress to pass the FY 2022 annual spending bills in the coming weeks, increase resources for the many programs successfully supporting and protecting children, and avoid a long-term continuing resolution (CR). Furthermore, the letter also calls for prioritizing children in the FY22 spending bills with healthy 302(b) allocations to key subcommittees and provide crucial support to protect children’s well being and economic security.
Statement Thanking House for Inclusion of Additional ECF Money in House Build Back Better Act (11/29/21)
NAFIS joins more than 46 organizations in a statement thanking the House for approving an additional $300 million for the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) in the Build Back Better Act. The ECF has already provided home broadband connections to millions of K-12 students, educators, and library patrons.
Sign-on Letter Urging Senate to Include Continued Funding for Digital Connectivity in the Budget Reconciliation Act (10/7/21)
NAFIS joins more than 55 organizations in a sign-on letter sent to Senate leadership requesting that the Budget Reconciliation Act incorporate language from and funding for the Securing Universal Communications Connectivity to Ensure Students Succeed (SUCCESS) Act (S. 2447/HR 4663), legislation that would add funding to the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF), which was authorized and funded under the American Rescue Plan Act. The letter emphasizes the extraordinarily high demand for ECF funds. The remaining funds from the allocation of the $7 billion in emergency funding to the E-rate program as part of the America’s Rescue Plan Act are anticipated to be fully exhausted in the second week of October 2021.
Response to FY22 President’s Budget Request (5/28/21)
NAFIS strongly supports President Biden’s FY22 education budget request, which calls for an unprecedented 41 percent increase for the U.S. Department of Education – the largest increase to any agency. The request includes a $40 million increase for Impact Aid Section 7003 Basic Support and level funding for all other parts of the program. It is the first Presidential budget request in nearly a decade that does not call for the total elimination of Section 7002 Federal Property funding.
Sign-on Letter Urging Senate to Support $7 Emergency Connectivity Fund (3/4/21)
NAFIS joins more than 50 organizations in a sign-on letter sent to the Senate urging them to act with haste to appropriate $7 billion in one-time, short-term emergency funding to the E-rate program as part of the America’s Rescue Plan Act of 2021. E-rate is the quickest, most efficient, and most equitable way, to disseminate funds to help schools and libraries connect K-12 students with Internet access and appropriate connected devices.
Sign-On Letter Urging the House Energy & Commerce Committee to Appropriate $7.6 B to the E-rate Program (2/10/21)
NAFIS joins over 50 organizations in a sign-on letter sent to the House Energy and Commerce Committee urging them to act with haste to appropriate $7.6 billion in one-time, short-term emergency funding to the E-rate program as part of America’s Rescue Plan. E-rate is the quickest, most efficient, and most equitable way, to disseminate funds to help schools and libraries connect K-12 students with Internet access and appropriate connected devices.
Sign-On Letter Urging Congress to Increase Funding for the Homework Gap in Federal COVID-19 Relief (12/11/20)
NAFIS joins more than 50 organizations in a sign-on letter sent to Congressional leadership urging them to increase funding for broadband connectivity and devices for remote learning in the bipartisan Emergency COVID Relief Act of 2020. The $3 billion figure meets only about 25% of the $12 billion identified homework gap need and will leave too many K-12 students and teachers without adequate remote access to their classes.
Sequestration Survey (October 2013)
Following a 2012 study on the impact of sequestration, NAFIS surveys its members on how federally impacted schools are implementing cuts to their federal revenues. It is clear that these budget cuts are having a significant impact on federally impacted districts, including the military dependents and Native American children who live there.
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