Gabbard Aims to Improve Schools for Children of Servicemembers

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard introduced a bill earlier today as an effort to improve facilities for schools where children of servicemembers are enrolled.

The Survey our Military Impacted Schools Act would direct the Department of Defense to evaluate the unmet renovation, repair, and expansion needs of elementary and secondary schools across the country that serve children of US military personnel and federal government employees.

“Over 800,000 children of servicemembers attend public schools. Our men and women in uniform, and their families, sacrifice so much in service to our country. They shouldn’t have to worry about the needs of their kids’ schools,” said Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.

“Unfortunately, programs to assist these schools are vastly underfunded. My bill will help make sure that necessary resources are prioritized and delivered to schools most in need.”

According to a survey of 5,650 military and veterans conducted in 2017 by the Military Family Advisory Network, 43 percent of military families had elected to live separately from the active military member at some point in their career, with 21 percent citing a need for continuity in their children’s education.

“Chronic underfunding of the Impact Aid program has resulted in military-connected children attending schools that are operating at a loss and without the resources needed to help these students thrive,” A press release from Gabbard read.

“H.R.4917 would help better quantify where there are needs and provide better direction for Congress to allocate resources to meet these needs.”