School Assistance for Federally Affected Areas (Impact Aid) helps compensate local school districts for the expense of educating federally connected children, An April 1984 LMI report 'Proposal to Revise the Federal Impact Aid Program ' (Task ML326) proposed changes that address: (1) the types of children eligible for Impact Aid; (2) the method used to compute the Local Contribution Rate; (3) the entitlement weight by type of child; and (4) the allocation method used to adjust to different levels of program funding. We tested the proposed changes by comparing payments that were made to school districts in FY 82 with payments that would have been made under the revised methods. Results show that the changes would achieve their objectives: 68% of the military dependents are in school districts that would have received higher payments. Thirty-two percent are in districts that would have received lower payments or none at all. In most of these losing districts, military dependents represented less than five percent of total enrollment. High-impact districts would be favored on a sliding scale when program funds are reduced, The payment system will be simplified. Mustering support fort these changes will be difficult because more school districts will lose funds than will gain and many districts will receive nothing at all. It is feasible to adopt parts of the package of changes rather than the whole package.

Assessment of the Impact Aid Program

The Impact Aid Program