Hirono Emphasizes Importance of Impact Aid Funding in Address to Transition Centers Best Practices Conference

HONOLULU –  Senator Mazie K. Hirono emphasized the importance of continuing federal funding for Impact Aid that supports the education of federally-impacted students at the Hawaii Department of Education’s Transition Centers Best Practices Conference.

School transition centers provide peer and educator support to students entering a new school, and are partially funded through federal Impact Aid, which provides funding based on the number of federally-connected students enrolled in Hawaii’s single district public school system. The Mark Takai Transition Center Network was established in 2017 to expand and improve school transition center programs.

“School transition centers create a network of support for all of our young people who are from military and federally-impacted families,” Senator Hirono said. “Military families sacrifice and serve our country, just as our service members do, and investing in school transition centers through Impact Aid is critical to student success. The Mark Takai Transition Center Network will allow this very important program to expand to more Hawaii schools, and serve new students from a variety of backgrounds.”

Senator Hirono is the Co-Chair of the Senate Impact Aid Coalition and continues her work to protect Hawaii’s Impact Aid funding. Each year, Senator Hirono writes to Congressional appropriators to request strong funding for the Impact Aid program. Senator Hirono successfully fought the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to the Impact Aid program, and increased Impact Aid funding by $86 million in the FY2018 omnibus spending bill.

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