THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            181
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING A CONCERTED EFFORT TO PROVIDE INCREASED FUNDING FOR
    FEDERALLY CONNECTED STUDENTS ATTENDING HAWAII'S PUBLIC
    SCHOOLS.


 1        WHEREAS, the Federal Impact Aid Law, referred to as P.L.
 2   103-382, Title VIII, requires the United States Department of
 3   Defense to make arrangements as may be necessary to provide
 4   free public education to all federally connected children; and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, traditionally, property, sales, and personal
 7   income taxes account for a large portion of the average school
 8   district's annual budget; and
 9   
10        WHEREAS, parents or guardians of federally connected
11   students often pay no income taxes or vehicle license fees in
12   their state of residence, live on nontaxable federal property,
13   shop at stores that do not generate taxes, and work on
14   nontaxable federal land, thereby adversely affecting a school
15   district's financial base; and
16   
17        WHEREAS, impact aid provides a payment to school districts
18   in lieu of lost taxes to assist with the basic educational
19   needs of its students; and
20   
21        WHEREAS, the federal impact aid program, provides
22   opportunities for school districts to qualify for additional
23   funding through title 20 United States Code section 7702,
24   relating to payments for property, section 7703(d), relating to
25   military students with disabilities, section 7703(f), relating
26   to heavily impacted districts, and section 7707, relating to
27   construction and maintenance needs of certain school districts;
28   and
29   
30        WHEREAS, during the 1996 Congress, the House Impact Aid
31   Coalition's top priority was a reversal of the decades long
32   decline in impact aid funding and a recommitment to the belief
33   that the federal government is duty bound to assist communities
34   which have a large federal government presence; and
35   
36      WHEREAS, the House Impact Aid Coalition identified 1,800

 
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 1 school districts and 1.5 million children across the country who
 2 depend on the impact aid program and further recognized that
 3 insufficient funding of impact aid can also harm an estimated
 4 17.5 million children whose families reside in school districts
 5 impacted by a federal presence; and
 6 
 7      WHEREAS, to determine the amount of impact aid paid,
 8 students are weighted according to the Weighted Federal Student
 9 Units which establish six categories based on different financial
10 impact on the school district; and
11 
12      WHEREAS, the National Association of Federally Impacted
13 Schools, recognizing that school districts that depend on impact
14 aid are clearly struggling, recommends increasing the weight for
15 military students and for students of civilian parents who work
16 or live on federal property to facilitate more equitable
17 financing of education of federally connected students; and
18 
19      WHEREAS, for fiscal year 1998, there were 30,165 federally
20 connected students attending Hawaii schools, 13,631 military
21 students living on federal property, 2,612 military students not
22 living on federal property, 9,631 civilian students whose parents
23 work on federal property, and 4,291 federally connected students
24 residing in federal low-rent housing projects; and
25 
26      WHEREAS, the Department of Education impact aid summary
27 indicates that the State of Hawaii spends an average of $6,099
28 per year to educate each federally connected student, while the
29 average impact aid basic support received per federal weighted
30 student in Hawaii is $778, leaving eighty-seven per cent of the
31 cost to be paid by Hawaii taxpayers; now, therefore,
32 
33      BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature of
34 the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1999, the House of
35 Representatives concurring, that the Board of Education and the
36 Department of Education provide a report on the history of impact
37 aid received by Hawaii, including the sections of the United
38 States Code under which an application for funds was made and how
39 these funds were dispersed; and
40 
41      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education and the
42 Department of Education identify the full cost of educating

 
 
 
 
 
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 1 federally connected students as allowed by the federal impact aid
 2 formulas, including needs for general administration, general
 3 instruction, special education, capital improvements, and
 4 equipment in order to maximize impact aid paid to the State; and
 5 
 6      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education and the
 7 Department of Education identify all public educational
 8 institutions located on United States Department of Defense
 9 facilities and all other public educational institutions that are
10 attended predominantly by students residing on federal property
11 and pursue separate appropriations for construction and
12 maintenance as allowed under title 20 United States Code section
13 7707; and
14 
15      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education and the
16 Department of Education submit their findings and recommendations
17 to the Legislature not less than twenty days prior to the
18 convening of the Regular Session of 2000; and
19 
20      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this final report be
21 transmitted to Hawaii's congressional delegation with a
22 recommendation that the Department of Defense be apprised of the
23 significant findings and proposed remedies; and
24 
25      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of Hawaii's
26 congressional delegation are respectfully urged to join in a
27 concerted effort to provide full funding for federally connected
28 students in Hawaii and minimize the financial impact of federally
29 connected students to Hawaii's public education system; and
30 
31      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
32 Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Board of Education,
33 the Department of Education, and each member of Hawaii's
34 congressional delegation.
35 
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38                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________