Title 20EducationRelease 119-73

§7703a Impact aid for children with severe disabilities

Title 20 › Chapter CHAPTER 70— - STRENGTHENING AND IMPROVEMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER VII— - IMPACT AID › § 7703a

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must pay a school district that serves two or more children with severe disabilities for extra costs of giving each child a free appropriate public education for fiscal years after fiscal year 2001, but only if money is specifically appropriated for those payments. The payment for each child equals the amount paid for that child above the State’s average per-pupil spending, minus money the district gets from the child’s State, from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), and from any other source tied to the child’s severe disability. No payment is made for a child whose individual education cost does not exceed five times the lower of the national or State average per-pupil spending when the child is placed outside the district, or three times the State average when the child is served inside the district. If funds are not enough to pay everyone, the Secretary must cut all payments by the same percentage. A district seeking payment must report how many such children it has and the average cost by placement (inside or outside the district). “Local educational agency” means the term as defined in section 7713 of this title.

Full Legal Text

Title 20, §7703a

Education — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Subject to subsection (f), the Secretary of Defense shall make a payment for fiscal years after fiscal year 2001, to each local educational agency eligible to receive a payment for a child described in subparagraph (A)(ii) or (B), or clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (D), of section 7703(a)(1) 11 See References in Text note below. of this title that serves two or more such children with severe disabilities, for costs incurred in providing a free appropriate public education to each such child.
(b)The amount of the payment under subsection (a) to a local educational agency for a fiscal year for each child referred to in such subsection with a severe disability shall be—
(1)the payment made on behalf of the child with a severe disability that is in excess of the average per pupil expenditure in the State in which the local educational agency is located; less
(2)the sum of the funds received by the local educational agency—
(A)from the State in which the child resides to defray the educational and related services for such child;
(B)under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) to defray the educational and related services for such child; and
(C)from any other source to defray the costs of providing educational and related services to the child which are received due to the presence of a severe disabling condition of such child.
(c)No payment shall be made under subsection (a) on behalf of a child with a severe disability whose individual cost of educational and related services does not exceed—
(1)five times the national or State average per pupil expenditure (whichever is lower), for a child who is provided educational and related services under a program that is located outside the boundaries of the school district of the local educational agency that pays for the free appropriate public education of the student; or
(2)three times the State average per pupil expenditure, for a child who is provided educational and related services under a program offered by the local educational agency, or within the boundaries of the school district served by the local educational agency.
(d)If the amount available for a fiscal year for payments under subsection (a) is insufficient to pay the full amount all local educational agencies are eligible to receive under such subsection, the Secretary of Defense shall ratably reduce the amounts of the payments made under such subsection to all local educational agencies by an equal percentage.
(e)Each local educational agency desiring a payment under subsection (a) shall report to the Secretary of Defense—
(1)the number of severely disabled children for which a payment may be made under this section; and
(2)a breakdown of the average cost, by placement (inside or outside the boundaries of the school district of the local educational agency), of providing education and related services to such children.
(f)Payments shall be made for any period in a fiscal year under this section only to the extent that funds are appropriated specifically for making such payments for that fiscal year.
(g)In this section, the term “local educational agency” has the meaning given that term in section 7713 of this title.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 7703(a)(1) of this title, referred to in subsec. (a), was in the original “section 7003(a)(1)” and was translated as meaning section 7003(a)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which is classified to section 7703(a)(1) of this title, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(B), is title VI of Pub. L. 91–230, Apr. 13, 1970, 84 Stat. 175, which is classified generally to chapter 33 (§ 1400 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1400 of this title and Tables. Codification Section was enacted as part of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001, and not as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 which comprises this chapter.

Amendments

2015—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–95, § 9215(kk)(1), substituted “subparagraph (A)(ii) or (B), or clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (D), of section 7703(a)(1) of this title” for “subparagraph (A)(ii), (B), (D)(i) or (D)(ii) of section 7703(a)(1) of this title”. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 114–95, § 9215(kk)(2), substituted “section 7713 of this title.” for “section 7713(9) of this title.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2015 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 114–95 effective Dec. 10, 2015, except with respect to certain noncompetitive programs and competitive programs, see section 5 of Pub. L. 114–95, set out as a note under section 6301 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

20 U.S.C. § 7703a

Title 20Education

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73