r a penny, or without charge, the Department of Agriculture and cal organizations paying the additional cost.

In February 1943 the Department began making cash payments to rtially cover the food costs of complete lunches. These payments ere made from funds available under section 32 of the Agricultural djustment Act of 1938, as amended.

In June 1946 the National School Lunch Act was passed. The purse of the school-lunch program, as set forth in the act, has henceth been in substance: To improve the health and well-being of the ation's children and broaden the market for agricultural food comdities through Federal assistance, in the form of both funds and d, to States and Territories for use in serving nutritious midday als to children attending schools of high-school grade and under. The National School Lunch Act placed the responsibility for direct ninistration of the program on the State departments of education. eviously the United States Department of Agriculture had in most tances carried this responsibility. The Department of Agriculture s left responsible for overall administration, including the approval lisapproval of States for participation, based on the State's annual n of operation, and the apportionment of funds and food to the

tes.

'unds are apportioned to the State educational agencies in accorde with a statutory formula. This is based on need as evidenced by number of school children in the State and the per capita income he State as related to the United States per capita income. Federal Is must be matched from sources within the State. Proportiony larger amounts of money are allocated to the financially weaker es by requiring lower State and local matching rates.

xception to the distribution method is made in some cases. In e instances funds are allocated directly to the school-lunch proin private schools in States in which State laws or court decisions not permit the State educational agency to make payments to te schools.

der the National School Lunch Act the Department of Agriculpurchases and distributes agricultural commodities as well as s for school lunches.

hether the national school-lunch program should be regarded as ally one of Federal aid to education is questionable. Public Law 74th Congress, under which the program was started, did not ion Federal aid to education or school lunches. Initiated priy for the purpose of aiding in price stabilization of agricultural odities the program is still largely devoted to this purpose. theless, probably most persons would agree that this program important aid to the advancement of education in the States. ole 3 gives data on allotments under the national school-lunch am for the school year 1952-53.

TABLE 3.-Federal funds allotted and estimated value of commodities distri by the Department of Agriculture for the National school-lunch program, f.1952-53 school year 1

1 Data supplied by the Department of Agriculture.

Not eligible to participate in the national school-lunch program during the school year 1952-53. P Law 518, 82d Cong., made Guam eligible to participate in later school years; however the Guam Depa ment of Education did not get the program underway in the 1953-54 school year.

6. UTILIZATION OF FEDERAL SURPLUS PROPERTY

In the Surplus Property Act of 1944 Congress made provision fr the transfer of Federal surplus property to schools and other put: institutions, by donation or public benefit discount. The act ma tax-supported and tax-exempt, nonprofit educational institution eligible to receive quantities of Government-owned property no lon needed for defense purposes.

The Office of Surplus Property Utilization was subsequent established in the United States Office of Education to carry o certain provisions of the act, and State agencies were created ' coordinate the orderly transfer of surplus property.

Public Law 889, 80th Congress, authorized the Departments War and Navy to donate their surplus property to educatio institutions for unrestricted educational use. Public Law 754, 5 Congress, approved September 1950, broadened the scope of surplus property program to provide for the donation of surg personal property to tax-supported and tax-exempt medical health institutions as well as to schools and colleges.

Fede Under the surplus personal property utilization program surplus personal property of all kinds has been donated to educ tional and health institutions. The Department of Health, E tion, and Welfare allocates to the various State agencies such availabs. surplus personal property as the Department has determined to useful for educational and health purposes. During the Kor conflict some of this property was recovered and returned to the 1 Includes equipment, materials, books, and miscellaneous supplies.

L

partment of Defense for utilization in the Korean defense effort.
ice the close of that conflict larger quantities of surplus personal
operty have been available for distribution.

Under the surplus real property utilization program surplus real
operty has been sold or leased to educational institutions having
portant needs for it. Such property has varied from large installa-
ns complete with buildings to small unimproved land areas. The
imated fair value of the property at time of transfer has been paid
the educational institutions, partly in cash and partly in prede-
mined public benefits accruing through the utilization of the
perty. Some of the property has been repossessed by the Depart-
nt of Defense for emergency use. It may, however, be returned
the educational institutions when the emergency is over.
Table 4 gives estimates of fair value of surplus property donated to
olic schools in the calendar year 1953.

LE 4.-Estimates of fair value of surplus property donated to public schools in the
calendar year 1953, by States 1

ared by Surplus Property Utilization Division, Office of Field Services, Department of Health, on, and Welfare, June 3, 1954.

aisal made at time of transfer.

7. NATIONAL-FOREST REVENUE FOR SCHOOLS AND ROADS

act of Congress in 1907 provided for the payment of 10 percent moneys derived from grazing, timber, rentals, and other rights ses of national forests to the State or Territory in which the reserve lies. This act was superseded by an act in 1908 which to 25 percent the portion of the total receipts to be paid to the or Territory. The law specifies that this portion of the receipts be used as the State or Territorial legislatures may prescribe benefit of public schools and public roads in the counties in the national forests are located.

es land and improvements thereon, such as buildings, etc., and buildings removed from original

Three States-California, Oregon, and Washington-receive ab 65.5 percent of the total funds made available to States and Territor from national forest revenues. Altogether 40 States, Alaska, £ Puerto Rico receive some money for schools from this source.

In accordance with the enabling acts for Arizona and New Met the entire income received by the Federal Government from sch lands situated within national forests in these States is returned! them for the support of schools. For the school year 1953-54 th two States received a total of $122,754.80 from this source.3

As to whether the arrangements under which a number of Sta receive a part of the revenue from national forests within their bord represent forms of Federal aid to education, or are merely the paym of Federal obligations or a part of these obligations to the States a matter of opinion.

Table 5 gives data on national-forest revenues returned to Star and Territories for roads and schools for the school year 1953-The Forest Service in the United States Department of Agricultu which administers these funds, has not compiled data showing apportionment of the funds between roads and schools made by t various legislatures. It is believed that a substantial amount is us for school support.

TABLE 5.-Federal funds collected from national-forest rentals and available! distribution for roads and schools, for the 1953–54 school year1

Besides the payments already described in this report, some Federa funds are paid and other types of Federal aid are given to States and local school districts for elementary and secondary education. Gene ally, however, the payments or other aids are either very small ir relation to the State and local budgets for education, or else the Federal payments or other aids are of such a nature that they could scarcely be regarded as programs of "Federal aid to education" even under a loose interpretation of that term. Comments on several such payments and aids follow.

Not included in table 5, because the amount of $122,754.80 was entirely for schools. (See table heading

Similarly as from national-forest revenues, some of the States reive, for the maintenance of schools and roads, part of the revenue om federally owned grazing lands and mineral lands and from the les of public lands located within their borders. These payments ight be considered to be made in lieu of taxes. The school budgets about a fifth of the States are slightly affected by these arrangements. Veterans who receive school training under Public Law 346, 78th ongress, or Public Law 550, 82d Congress, enter schools of their own oice. Many of these veterans have chosen to train in public schools. dditionally, many disabled veterans have been placed in vocational habilitation training in public schools under Public Law 16, 78th ongress, or Public Law 894, 81st Congress. As of May 1954 there ere about 122,000 veterans enrolled in residence training in public hools below the college level under all laws administered by the terans' Administration.

Financial records are not kept in such a manner as to identify mounts paid to any particular or all States and local school districts elementary and secondary education of veterans. According to Formation obtained from the Veterans' Administration, payments ade to States and local school districts, under laws which it adminers for the education of veterans, are made for expenses and services ndered to or on behalf of veterans and are not for the purpose of oviding Federal aid to education.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service, in the Department of stice, cooperates with the public schools in a program of citizenship ication for candidates for naturalization studying under the superion of the public schools. Federal aid is given in the form of paration and distribution of citizenship textbooks to candidates naturalization studying within or under the supervision of the olic schools.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior kes payments to State departments of education and local school horities under contracts for the education of certain Indian children ng on nontaxable Indian lands. About 33,000 Indian children eived education under such contracts during the school year 2-53.

The Civil Aeronautics Administration of the Department of Comce provides certain services in aid to aviation education in public Dols. Such services include assistance in setting up demonstration ses and supplying instructional materials.

ERVICES RENDERED BY THE UNITED STATES OFFICE OF EDUCATION discussion of Federal aid to States and local school districts for entary and secondary education would not be complete without gnition of the services rendered by the United States Office of cation. Some of these services have already been mentioned in report in the description of methods of administration of certain eral aid programs. The Office also performs a number of other ices for the promotion of education in the States and localities. e Office of Education was established

e purpose of collecting statistics and facts showing the condition and progress ication and for diffusing information respecting the organization and manageof schools and school systems and methods of teaching and otherwise to ote the cause of education throughout the country.