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OASIS News Update May 2022

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OASIS Update

May, 2022

OASIS Members,

OASIS would like to welcome NAFIS Executive Director Nicole Russell as she officially took the help on May 2. Interim Director John Forkenbrock will help her transition into her new position in the coming months.

We look forward to working with Ms. Russell to support Impact Aid in Oklahoma and across the country, and will extend invitations for her to join us in Oklahoma for our OASIS Conference and other events.

Read the NAFIS Newsletter below to learn more about Russell and other important NAFIS news, including a summary and photos of the spring conference. Steven and I were honored to be asked to present a session with NAFIS Government Relations Consultant Jon Bernstein to talk about OASIS and our role in advocating in Washington as well as collaborating with NAFIS and Impact Aid subgroups to support our members.

Thank you for your OASIS membership!

Billie and Steven

Read The NAFIS Newletter

NAFIS/OASIS Collaboration Has Significant Impact in Washington

In April, Steven and I contacted Oklahoma representatives in Washington D.C., asking them to sign a "Dear Colleague," letter to the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations subcommittee in support of additional Impact Aid Funding. Representatives Mullin and Lucas signed the letter. (Senator Inhofe co-sponsored the letter in the Senate and we have asked Senator Lankford to sign).

Additionally, we reached out to Congressman Cole, who serves on the appropriations committee, with a special request and as usual his response was outstanding! Please read the committee hearing summary below.

As a result, we received an email from Interim Director John Forkenbrock and NAFIS Consultant Jon Bernstein detailing Cole's statement and thanking us for our efforts in representing our OASIS members.

"On behalf of the NAFIS community I want to thank you for your outreach to Rep. Cole as he prepared questions for the Secretary.

Some times it’s the little things that have the most clout. Touching base with Rep. Cole brought Impact Aid to the attention of the Secretary. He never mentioned it in his prepared testimony, but Cole’s question provided a response from the Secretary that communicated to the members of the Subcommittee that the Administration supports the program which will help lift Impact Aid to a higher level of priority when the Subcommittee reports out a FY 2023 Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations bill hopefully sometime this summer."

Mr. Forkenbrock added, "Because of your follow through with Rep. Cole, Impact Aid was given recognition both within the subcommittee and the Department of Education. Thanks again, Billie. You folks at OASIS are the best."

Being able to represent as many districts as possible, to show that we represent all congressional districts and schools of all sizes, is vitally important when we advocate to Oklahoma legislators for support of Impact Aid!

Your membership in OASIS is important!

Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing Summary

OASIS DUES FY23

By May 15, OASIS will be emailing out invoices for FY23 dues, dated July 1, 2022.

If you do not receive your invoice, or if you need to change the date, address, or other information,

please email Administrative Assistant Raychel Harris.

WHY JOIN OASIS?

OASIS is your voice in the Impact Aid community, working with NAFIS and other Impact Aid subgroups, the USDE, OSDE, tribes, and elected officials.

We represent all Oklahoma school districts with non-taxable Federal land within their boundaries—including Indian Trust and Treaty lands, military installations and other Federal buildings and property.

YOUR VOICE IN WASHINGTON D.C.

Working closely with NAFIS and supporting common goals, OASIS Directors and Board Members travel to Washington D.C. twice yearly, scheduling and visiting every Oklahoma representative and senator to carry the messages of our members and to ask for their support for funding and relevant legislation.

YOUR SOURCE FOR IMPACT AID INFORMATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Provides members information on the application submission process and requirements.
Coordinates in-state and regional training on the application program and EduSkills.
Serves as a liaison with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Impact Aid, to assist districts in resolving issues with applications and/or funding, helping arrange meetings and traveling with them to Washington if needed.

YOUR PROFESSIONAL NETWORK!

Hosts the OASIS State Conference for members to learn and stay updated on Impact Aid and to provide application training.
Updates members regularly on changes funding, legislation, the application process and other current, relevant Impact Aid information.
Liaisons with other national impact aid organizations representing American Indian(NIISA). Military (MISA), Mid/Low Lots (MTLL), and Federal Lands (FLISA), to ensure that all districts and their impacted students are equally represented and protected.
Schedules legislative visits for the Oklahoma delegation during the NAFIS Conferences in Washington D.C.

JOIN TODAY!

Help us represent all of Oklahoma, united under one organization that is informed, active, and concerned about protecting IA funds for our students.
With more districts receiving Impact Aid than any other state, together we are strong, with a unified message: Impact Aid funds are vital to the students of Oklahoma and must be a priority.
OASIS dues are calculated based on FY20 payments:

For questions or for more information, contact

OASIS Executive Director Billie Jordan.

Office Of Impact Aid

Spotlight News You Can Use

The Office of Impact Aid is continually improving their forms, services, technical assistant and partnerships with Impact Aid districts!

Check out their newsletter and be sure to clink on the links to see the amazing tools they provide.

TIP: The Source Check Form is very user-friendly!

This month we are highlighting one of our Impact Aid Resources from our website. If you have not bookmarked our resources webpage, Do IT Now! You can find a wealth of helpful tools that you can use right at your fingertips.

Did you know that Impact Aid has a NEW sample source check template? Our sample source check form has been revised to better align with how our new Impact Aid Grant system (IAGS) captures your child counts. Impact Aid no longer captures data using a “Tables” (Tables 1-5) system. IAGS captures student counts based on federal connection by categories A-E and by Federal property. Our revised sample source check form has tabs at the bottom for each of those categories and Federal property type. Make sure your District is up to date with our most recently revised survey tool and start using our revised source check form TODAY by clicking here.

Impact Aid Insider Tip(s)

You may view each source check category by selecting the tab at the bottom of the form
Our new sample source check form allows you to obtain SPED certifications for children with disabilities on the same source check form as children without disabilities who are in the same category and claimed on the same property. There is no longer a need to complete multiple source check forms to differentiate these children. To view the sample source check form, click here.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us by email or by phone. Click here to locate your state assigned analyst!

The Impact Aid Program

Source-Check-Package-formatted-3-3-22.xlsx

FY 2022 Monitoring

IAP selected 181 FY 2022 applicants for an in-depth documentation review. Most LEAs will receive a response during May or June, but it will depend on the assigned analyst’s workload. You can always email the analyst assigned if you would like an update

OASIS Conference

November 9-10, 2022

River Spirit, Tulsa

Impact Aid Application Amendment Period Now Open

The amendment period for your FY 2023 Impact Aid application is now open. If you intend to amend, please do so as soon as possible.

To get started, log in to the Impact Aid Grant System (IAGS). If you need help, the U.S. Department of Education has instructions to guide you through the process.

If you plan to apply under the Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act, which allows you to use some of your FY 2022 application data, here are three helpful tips:

Select the “Pursuant to the Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act” check box.
Change your membership data and survey date to reflect your FY 2022 application data.
Change your child count for your federal properties to reflect your FY 2022 application data.

The amendment deadline is June 30, 2022. Questions? Contact your state assigned analyst.

Log In to IAGS

Message for FLISA Executive Director, Tom Schneider:

I hope you will join us at our Summer meeting in Portland, June 24, 2022. The registration information is attached.

One of the important areas we will be working on this summer is getting our organization ready to deal with what comes next in Washington DC. To do this we will need to work together to identify the new Congressional districts which have federal properties within their boundaries. Then we will need to be sure we are reaching out to those representatives in Congress.

You may recall that in DC and in Florida we worked on refining our Advocacy Action Plan. At our Portland meeting these efforts continue and will be selecting leaders for the Messaging, Advocacy and Membership Committees.

As always, we cannot be successful in these efforts without your involvement. I hope that you will join us at our summer meeting.