WASHINGTON— Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) helped secure millions in the U.S. House of Representative’s fiscal year 2019 Defense Appropriations bill supporting education for military children in schools. This funding will enable schools to meet the unique needs of military children and their parents facing the challenges of military life.  Additionally, this bill will fund programs aimed at supporting military families that have children with disabilities such as autism, intellectual disabilities, physical deformities, visual or hearing impairments, or mental health disorders. This bill passed full committee markup today and is scheduled to move for a vote on the House Floor this summer.

Securing Millions for Impact Aid

In the bill, Congressman Cuellar helped secure $40 million dollars, a $10 million increase from FY18, in operations and maintenance for Impact Aid. Impact Aid is a federal program focused on military-impacted schools. This program provides quality special education and counseling programs in a safe and secure environment for military families dealing with the stress of constant moves, continued deployments, and the wounds of war. (See attached bill language)

Military bases in Texas and across the country rely greatly on funding to support children of our military personnel. This includes Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA), which uses money secured in the appropriations bill to fund various educational programs for students in the area. In fiscal year 2017, the DoD reported that an estimated $1 million of Impact Aid funding was provided for thousands of children attending schools in, or surrounding military installations including the Randolph Independent School District (ISD), Lackland ISD, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD, and Fort Sam Houston ISD. (See attached bill language)

Helping Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

In addition to funding for Impact Aid, the congressman successfully included $2.5 million for educational programs helping military families with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  This allocation will provide teachers with new educational strategies, communications skills, advanced curriculum, and technologies, so that they can help children with ASD meet their individual educational achievements. (See attached bill language)

“We need to ensure that students who go to school in, or surrounding military bases receive a quality education,” said Congressman Cuellar. “These are children of parents who have risked their lives defending our country and we owe it to them to make sure that they get the support that they need.”

“I secured this funding to ensure that each child meets their intellectual potential and enable schools to support children of active duty members.” Congressman Cuellar continued, “I thank my fellow Appropriators, Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Granger and Ranking Member Visclosky, for helping me secure these funds which will help aid our military personnel and their families.”

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