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1 1 (August 18, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdbjq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 01;0i E~$~ & Updated August 18, 2020 DOD Domestic School System: Background and Issues The Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) manages a federal school system that provides pre- kindergarten through grade 12 education, primarily for the children of military servicemembers. According to the Department of Defense (DOD), in 2020, DODEA operated 160 schools globally, including 50 domestic schools across states and one virtual school. These schools employ nearly 12,000 staff, for a student population of about 70,000. DODEA also has arrangements with local education authorities (LEAs) that operate civilian-managed schools on military installations. This report focuses only on DODEA's domestic school system. Commanders at military installations had established their own K-12 schools since the early 1800s. In 1821, Congress first enacted a law authorizing the operation of schools for children of servicemembers living on military installations in the United States. In 1950, Section 6 of P.L. 81-874 consolidated funding and the operation of what became known as Section 6 schools under the Office of Education later the Department of Education (ED). Between 1950 and 1980 these schools were established in locales that lacked adequate public education for children living on installations, by reason of racially segregated schools, remote or sparsely populated locations, or state restrictions on funds to educate military children on federal property. The 1981 Omnibus Reconciliation Act (P.L. 97-35) shifted funding responsibility for all DOD schools from ED to DOD. In 1994, P.L. 103-337 replaced the Section 6 legislation and renamed the school system the Department of Defense Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (DDESS). Section 2164 of Title 10, United States Code, provides the statutory authority for the Secretary of Defense to enter into arrangements to provide for the elementary and secondary education for children of members of the armed forces and DOD civilian employees assigned domestically (to include any U.S. state, territory, commonwealth, or possession). Per this statute, factors to be considered by the Secretary when determining whether to provide for domestic education include the extent to which 1) children are eligible for free public education in the local area adjacent to the military installation, and 2) the ability of LEAs to provide an appropriate public school educational program for such children. Approximately 1.1 million school-aged children have at least one parent in the military, and nearly 80% of these children attend non-DDESS public schools off military bases. Since 1950 (P.L. 81-874), LEAs have been authorized to receive financial aid, called Impact Aid from ED for federally-connected students enrolled in local public schools to compensate for a substantial and continuing financial burden resulting from federal activities. Military-connected LEAs receive DOD Impact Aid for all enrolled dependent children of active duty servicemembers; however, the amount of aid varies depending on whether the servicemember lives on or off federal property. DOD administers an Impact Aid Program in addition to the ED program. For more background on ED and DOD Impact Aid, please see CRS Report R45400, Impact Aid, Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: A Primer. All dependent children of U.S. military and DOD civilian employees living on an installation with a DDESS school are eligible to attend that school tuition-free. Other dependent children of DOD military, federal civilian employees, and foreign militaries may be eligible for tuition-free enrollment under certain circumstances. Children of DOD contractors are not eligible to enroll. DDESS schools may accept dependent children of other non-DOD federal agency employees for tuition reimbursement by the agency; however, DDESS may not accept tuition from individuals. Tuition rates for domestic schools for the 2020-2021 school year were between $23,000 and $26,000, depending on the student's grade. The DDESS budget is supported by defense-wide Operation and Maintenance (O&M), Military Construction (MILCON), and Procurement appropriations. The O&M budget for DDESS includes items such as salaries, travel, contracts, supplies, and equipment. MILCON funds are typically multi-year appropriations for projects like new school construction or additions to existing schools. Table I. DDESS O&M Funding in Recent Years Current dollars in thousands ($000) FY2019 FY2020 FY202 I (actual) (enacted) (estimated) O&M $568,254 $586,081 $587,942 Source: DOD Comptroller, Budget Books DODEA primarily measures student performance annually within the DOD school system using the TerraNova standardized test. DODEA also participates in the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). This is a standards-based national test administered at grades 4, 8, p\w -- , gnom goo mppm qq\ a , q 'S I 11LULANJILiN,

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