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1 [1] (April 29, 2026)

handle is hein.crs/govetyn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Defense Primer: DODEA Domestic School System The Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) manages federally funded, domestic and overseas school systems that provide pre-kindergarten (pre-K) through grade 12 education, primarily for the children of active duty servicemembers living on military installations. Note that the Department of Defense (DOD), is using a secondary Department of War designation, under Executive Order 14347 dated September 5, 2025, and is using Department of War Education Activity (DOWEA) as a secondary designation for DODEA. DODEA's Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (DDESSs) program operates 53 schools across 7 states, the Territory of Guam, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and enrolls approximately 22,000 students. DDESS also manages Special Arrangement contracts with local education authorities (LEAs) in Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, and Puerto Rico. Leg[s atve Background Since the early 1800s, commanders on military installations had established their own schools. In 1950, Congress consolidated the funding and operation of installation-run schools under the Office of Education-later the Department of Education (ED) as part of Section 6 of P.L. 81-874. Between 1950 and 1980 these Section 6 schools were established in locales where (1) state laws prohibited tax revenues of the state or any political subdivision of the state to be expended for free public education of children residing on federal property; or (2) education systems within the local communities were judged unable to provide suitable free public education. The law did not define suitable education. Some were established to provide a racially integrated schooling option for children of servicemembers (e.g., Maxwell Elementary School, Alabama). Others were established at installations in remote or sparsely populated locations. The 1981 Omnibus Reconciliation Act (P.L. 97-35) shifted funding responsibility for all military schools from ED to the Department of Defense. In 1994, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 (P.L. 103-337) replaced the Section 6 legislation and renamed the school system the Department of Defense Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools. During that era, Congress sought to transfer control of many installation- based schools to LEAs (P.L. 99-167). Congress has periodically requested studies on the divestiture of DOD domestic schools. Authorite5 Section 2164 of Title 10, United States Code, provides the authority for the Secretary of Defense to enter into arrangements to provide for 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). Updated April 29, 2026 Under Section 2164 of Title 10, factors to be considered 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. Dependent children of U.S. military and DOD civilian employees living on an installation with a DDESS school are eligible to attend tuition-free. The FY2025 NDAA (P.L. 118-159 §§592 -595), authorized a pilot program to provide space-available enrollment for dependents of full-time, active duty servicemembers assigned to, but not resident on, installations with a DDESS school. The FY2025 NDAA also expanded eligibility for enrollment in DOD's virtual school to home-schooled students in grades 1-12. Other dependent children of deceased U.S. military, federal civilian employees, and foreign militaries may be eligible for tuition-free enrollment under certain circumstances. DDSS Budget 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 appropriations provide for projects like new school construction or additions to existing schools. Table I. DDESS O&M Funding Current dollars FY2025 FY2026 FY2027 (actual) (enacted) (request) O&M $695,888,000 $700,112,000 $707,079,000 Source: DOD Comptroller, Budget Books. The FY2027 President's budget request also includes $869.5 million in mandatory spending for a School Choice Voucher initiative to provide $15,500 per student to eligible families to access higher performing schools when local options are insufficient. In pact Ad The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has previously reported that 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. 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. DOD administers an Impact Aid Program in