What is MISA

Military Impacted Schools Association (MISA) is a national organization of school superintendents and elected school boards. Our mission is to serve school districts with a high concentration of military-connected children.

Formed in 1986 in Omaha, Nebraska, MISA works on funding, legislation, partnerships and programs for military families on the move.

Education is an important quality of life program for military families. MISA partners with the Department of Defense, National Military Family Association, and military leaders to ensure that all military-connected children are afforded a quality education. MISA works with our member school districts and commanders to highlight and promote best practices and partnerships that can further meet the needs of military families.

Specific areas that MISA works on include:

Funding

• Department of Education Impact Aid began in 1950. It is basically the federal government paying its “property taxes” to local school districts as a result of the presence of a military installation. Funds that are received by local school districts go into the general fund to pay for operating expenses—textbooks, teachers, computers, utilities, etc.—just as the local property taxpayers funds go into the school district general fund. Impact Aid, funded through the Department of Education, is currently funded at only 60% of need, as defined by federal law. It is the only education program not forward funded.
• DoD Impact Aid Funding for Military-connected Children began in FY'96. The funding was established to help school districts with significant concentrations of military students that have faced: lack of adequate funding for over two decades, challenges associated with base closures and realignments, deteriorating facilities, and safety issues. School districts with 20% or more military students are eligible for this funding.
• DoD High Needs Special Education Funding this funding covers expenditures for militaryconnected special needs children who are very high-cost students. It has been in place for over 15 years and has an annual application process.

* STATUS: For DoD Impact Aid and Special Education Funding, Congress appropriated $70 million in FY’21. Our goal is for Congress to authorize and appropriate $70 million in FY’22.

• School Construction Heavily impacted school districts are in need of construction/renovation funding. Many schools were built in the 1950s and have received little funding, if any, for renovations. Programs have changed during this time and schools have to be rewired for technology, made handicap accessible, deal with lead and asbestos abatement, and modified for safety. Section 7007 of the Impact Aid program, as it is written, offers little assistance to school districts serving military-connected children.

  
  Congress has appropriated funding over the past 10 years to help with military construction for properties located on federal property through the Department of Defense. This program has renovated and built many new schools for military-connected children on post schools. This program needs to continue to be funded and expanded to schools off installation that still serve a high percentage of military-connected children.

Legislation

• MISA works with the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, Congress, and members of the House and Senate Impact Aid Coalition.
• MISA has worked through the authorization process to ease practices for collecting student survey data and also protecting public schools during the pandemic.

Council of State Governments

• MISA is a member of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. The Council of State Governments was hired by DoD to work with agencies and states to “remove barriers to educational success imposed on children of military families because of frequent moves and deployments.”

• Major areas of focus include:
  
  • Educational records and enrollment
  • Placement and attendance
  • Eligibility
  • Graduation

* STATUS: The Interstate Compact was approved in January, 2008. All fifty states and the District of Columbia have approved the legislation. The relationship with the leadership of the Military Children Interstate Compact is very strong.

Partnerships

• MISA works to develop many partnerships with a common cause--doing what’s best for our military-connected children and families. Some of our many partners include the Department of Defense, DoDEA, National Military Family Association, National PTA, military associations, etc.