[Bottom of Page] Executive Summary This report describes a study of two Federally funded programs that provide for the elementary and secondary education of military dependents who live in the United States. One program, the Department of Defense (DoD) Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (DDESS), provides education for children living on military installations that are adjacent to communities where the local schools had at one time been deemed unable to provide a “suitable” education. The other program complements the DDESS program; it supports the education of military dependents in communities where these children are educated in the local public schools. The second program is run by the U.S. Department of Education and provides Federal “Impact Aid” funds to local educational agencies (LEAs) that educate the children of military personnel. Impact Aid funding compensates LEAs for the loss of revenues resulting from the tax-exempt status of both Federal property and the personal property of military personnel. The study was conducted in response to the Conference Report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 (Public Law No. 103-337). This report requested that the Secretary of Defense conduct a survey of DDESS to collect information concerning the possibility of transferring the DDESS schools to LEAs. In addition, the Secretary was requested to survey LEAs with over 30-percent military-connected student populations to determine the level and sources of funding for these LEAs. The report also asked that both surveys include an examination of military parents’ perspectives on the quality of education provided by the DDESS or LEA schools. Executive Summary DDESS School Quality Transfer of DDESS Schools to LEAs Education Quality in Impact Aid LEAs Funding of Impact Aid LEAs Conclusions DDESS School Quality Parents’ opinions regarding the quality of DDESS schools were collected using a mailed survey. The Survey of Parents’ Opinions on Department of Defense Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (the DDESS Survey) was sent to a random sample of parents with children attending, in school year 1995-96, any of the 59 DDESS schools located on 15 military installations within the United States. Parents with children enrolled in the DDESS schools have a high opinion of the quality of education provided by these schools. Parents rated the schools most highly in terms of instructional quality, the safety and discipline provided by the schools, and the schools’ encouragement of parent involvement in their child’s learning. Relative to their opinions of U.S. public schools in general, DDESS parents had higher opinions of the quality of the DDESS schools. Moreover, DDESS parents rated these schools more highly than parents in other surveys rated their own child’s public school. Part of the reason DDESS schools are rated so highly appears to be that they function as neighborhood schools that serve only military dependents, similar to “coterminous” LEAs (LEAs with boundaries that are the same as the boundaries of a military installation). These higher ratings also may reflect other quality advantages provided by DDESS schools. In addition, given parents’ awareness of the potential for a transfer of the DDESS schools to LEAs, these ratings may partially reflect parents’ opposition to a transfer. Transfer of DDESS Schools to LEAs Opinions regarding the possible transfer of DDESS schools to LEAs were collected using a combination of methods. The DDESS Survey asked parents for their opinions regarding transferring DDESS schools to local public school districts. During on-site interviews, commanders of the 15 installations with DDESS schools and superintendents of the 15 DDESS systems were asked for their opinions on the transfer issue. Finally, superintendents of the 24 LEAs adjacent to a DDESS school and their corresponding state education officials were also interviewed regarding (a) their opinions on transfer, (b) conditions that would need to be met to facilitate a transfer, and (c) their perceptions about who is responsible for the education of military-connected students. Parents of DDESS students strongly and overwhelmingly oppose transferring DDESS schools to the local public school districts. Opposition increased with the parents’ rank, the perceived relative quality of the DDESS schools compared to the local public schools, and parent concern over transfer issues other than educational quality (e.g., student safety and busing/loss of neighborhood schools). Parents whose children had not attended any public schools were also more opposed to a transfer than were parents whose children had attended public schools. Parents have many concerns about a possible transfer. Student safety, inability of the local schools to meet the special needs of military children, and the possibility of busing or the loss of neighborhood schools topped the list, followed by concerns related to school quality (e.g., instructional quality). Among parents of special needs students, the availability of special education programs was also a major concern. In their interviews, the installation command and DDESS personnel expressed similar views to those of DDESS parents. The interviewed personnel typically opposed a transfer; they believed that a transfer would sacrifice education quality, attention to the needs of military children, and the strong links between DDESS schools and both installation services and the chain of command. Further, installation commanders feared that the loss of DDESS schools would be viewed as a degradation of current quality-of-life programs at their installation. Interviewed officials from all LEAs that are eligible to receive the DDESS students were willing to accept responsibility for these students, provided that adequate Federal funding is available. There was, however, widespread skepticism among LEA officials about the adequacy of Impact Aid funding. In the event of a transfer, all LEAs would require use of the existing DDESS facilities (or construction of new facilities). General transfer issues that would need to be addressed include LEA acquisition or ownership of DDESS facilities, the condition of DDESS facilities, and personnel issues related to the transition of Federal DDESS personnel to the state and LEA systems. Many LEA officials also requested that the Federal government provide transition funding to cover the initial costs of a transfer, as well as additional funding (beyond Impact Aid) to handle the increased student population that would result from a transfer and/or to cover capital outlays for the facilities that would house the new students. Additional logistical, administrative, or legal issues would need to be addressed at specific sites. For example, at five installations, more than one LEA could claim jurisdictional responsibility for the DDESS students. At installations with restricted access, LEA access to on-base school facilities may require special arrangements. Education Quality in Impact Aid LEAs The Impact Aid portion of this study focused on LEAs in which over 30 percent of enrolled students are military connected. In school year 1995-96, 93 LEAs in 34 states met this criterion. Parents’ opinions regarding the quality of education provided by schools in these LEAs were collected using a mailed survey. The Department of Defense Survey of Parents’ Opinions on Local Schools (the LEA Survey) was administered to a random sample of military parents who (a) had a school-aged child and (b) lived in an area served by any of the 93 target LEAs. Ratings given by military parents to the quality of education in the LEAs were generally favorable and in line with ratings given by parents of public school children in the nation as a whole. As in the DDESS Survey, military parents in these LEAs rated the schools most highly in terms of instructional quality, safety and discipline, and encouragement of parent involvement in their child’s learning. The LEA Survey found relatively low levels of satisfaction with schools’ responsiveness to the needs of military students and with parents’ voice in decisions regarding their child’s educational programs. These findings suggest that these target LEAs provide a good general education, but lack the focus on military families that is provided by schools (such as DDESS) that serve exclusively military-connected students. Funding of Impact Aid LEAs Information regarding LEA funding was obtained from the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data. In addition, telephone interviews were conducted with superintendents of the 93 target LEAs and with their corresponding state education officials. These interviews focused on views regarding responsibility for educating military-connected students and on education funding issues. States and their LEAs often disagree on who?local, state, and/or Federal governments?is responsible for the education of military-connected students. Most target LEAs and their states are ready to assume at least some of this responsibility. Nonetheless, one half of the target LEAs and over one third of the target states felt that the Federal government bears some responsibility for the education of students who live on military installations. These opinions were based primarily on financial rather than legal considerations. Both LEA and state officials viewed Federal Impact Aid as the appropriate program for the Federal government to meet this financial responsibility. Since the early 1980s, the Impact Aid program has been funded well below the maximum authorized levels. In Fiscal Year 1995, the program was funded at 53 percent of the maximum authorized. Although recent Defense drawdowns and military base closures may have alleviated some of the Impact Aid funding shortfalls, many LEA officials felt that Impact Aid funding levels have failed to keep pace with the increasing costs of educating students. In addition to funding levels, nearly three fourths of the LEA officials expressed concern over the reliability and timing (non-forward funding) of Impact Aid funds. The target LEAs in this study rely on Impact Aid to make up for reduced local contributions from military personnel. It is thus not surprising that these target LEAs receive proportionately more of their education funding from Federal sources and less from local sources, relative to other LEAs. These LEAs, however, receive proportionately less funding from Federal and local sources combined than do other LEAs, suggesting that Federal funding increases are not fully compensating these LEAs for local decreases. Also, the target LEAs’ average per-pupil expenditure level is lower than both the national average and the average for their states. These findings are consistent with the view that the Federal government is not fully meeting its financial responsibility to assist with the public education of military-connected students. Conclusions This study found strong support for the current DDESS system among the parents of DDESS students, installation commanders, and DDESS personnel. These strong endorsements and corresponding opposition to DDESS transfer can be easily understood in light of the (perceived) advantages provided by the DDESS system to military children and parents (e.g., an education system exclusively focused on military children, strong links to base services and command structure, a safe environment). Although they do not actively seek a transfer of DDESS schools to LEAs, state and local education officials are open to a transfer, as long as the Federal government provides sufficient funding. Transferring the DDESS schools to LEAs would involve considerable cost to the LEAs and/or Federal government, both for the short-term transition period, as well as for the long term. Logistical arrangements regarding facilities, personnel, and transportation, among others, would also need resolution. None of these factors pose insurmountable impediments to transfer. Notwithstanding the strong opposition to transfer uncovered in this study, continuation of the current DDESS system is more difficult to justify now than in the past. Ultimately, the main arguments for and against a transfer involve a trade-off between financial considerations and the perceived value of the DDESS schools to military personnel. These two issues must be carefully weighed in the context of budgetary priorities and military quality-of-life decisions. Assuming that a transfer of the DDESS schools may eventually be required, this report suggests that such transfers be carefully and strategically planned. The second major issue addressed in this study was funding for LEAs with enrollments that are over 30 percent military-connected students. These LEAs must rely on Federal Impact Aid to offset shortfalls in their education budgets resulting from the presence of military-connected students. Most LEA officials surveyed in this study felt that because Impact Aid was currently funded at less than maximum authorized levels, it did not provide sufficient reimbursement to offset this burden. [Top of Page]