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1 [1] (July 22, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/srghu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service ~ Inforrning the legislative debate since 1914 July 22, 2025 Defense Primer: DOD Dependents Overseas Schools (DODDS) The Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) manages 161 schools in 11 foreign countries, seven states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and a virtual school. DODEA organizes these schools in two separate but similar systems: the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DODDS) system, authorized under 20 U.S.C. §§926 et seq., and the Department of Defense Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary School (DDESS) system, authorized under 10 U.S.C. §2164 (see CRS In Focus IF10335, Defense Primer: DOD Domestic School System). DODDS serves children of military personnel stationed outside of the United States and its territories, and operates 107 schools and one virtual school, with an enrollment of about 45,000 students (see Figure 1 and Figure 2). Background The origins of DODDS system can be traced back to the post-World War II (WWII) era. According to DODEA, At the end of the war, there was no precedent to follow for establishing and operating dependents schools in foreign occupied countries and quite often, parents organized small schools. For example, prior to WWII, such schools were established in the Philippines (1918) and in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (1936). By the end of the 1940s, the Army, Navy, and Air Force separately operated almost 100 schools around the world. In 1959, Congress passed the Defense Department Overseas Teachers Pay and Personnel Practices Act (P.L. 86-91) requiring DOD to prescribe regulations for teacher compensation and benefits, conditions for employment, and other matters relevant to DOD's overseas schools. In January 1964, the Secretary of Defense reorganized the overseas school system by placing the responsibility for all schools within a given geographic area on one service branch with oversight by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower. Thus, the Department of the Army was made responsible for academic administration in Europe, the Navy for schools in the Atlantic, and the Air Force for schools in the Pacific. In 1978, Title XIV of P.L. 95-561, the Defense Dependents' Education Act of 1978, established the Defense Dependents' Education System (DDES). This legislation required the Secretary of Defense to provide to eligible overseas dependents a free, high quality, public education. DOD renamed the DDES as the Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DODDS) in 1979. Figure I. Number of DODEA Schools, by Region North Carolina 16 Kentucky 10J Georgia 8 DODEA Puerto Rico 4 Americas South Carolina 4 Virginia 13 New York 2 Alabama 1 2 Cuba 1 Germany U 34 Italy 10 United Kingdom 7 DODEA Belgium 5 Europe Spain U 3 The Netherlands 2 Bahrain 1 2 Turkey 1 1 Japan 34 DODEA South Korea 8 Pacific Guam 4 Source: DODEA, 2025. Note: Virtual school not included in graphic. Operations, Staffing, and Funding Under 20 U.S.C. §931, the Secretary of Defense has the authority to issue regulations for overseas schools, to include educational goals and objectives, curricula standards, professional standards and certification criteria for DODDS employees, and arrangements for logistical support, among other matters, to ensure the efficient organization and operation of the system. Staffing Most DODDS school employees are federal civilians and subject to civil service authorities under Title 5 of the U.S. Code. To determine whether teacher qualifications meet DODEA standards, its Licensure Unit will evaluate State teaching certificates and transcripts before final job offers are made. Budget Defense-wide Operation and Maintenance (O&M) appropriations provide the DODDS budget. The DODDS budget includes salaries for the estimated 6,600 staff, as well as supplies and equipment. DODDS also may get funding from other accounts, such as Procurement and Military Construction. tps://crsreports~conq ress.gc Number of Schools