To amend title 10, United States Code, to ensure equitable access to Department of Defense Education Activity schools for dependents of certain members of the reserve components performing active service.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Vindman (for himself and Mr. Bacon) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Total Force Family Education Act expands access to Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) schools for children of reserve component service members. Currently, DODEA schools primarily serve children of active-duty military personnel, but this bill extends that benefit to reserve members who are called to active duty and receive permanent change of station (PCS) orders with permission to bring their families.
Who Benefits and How
Reserve component service members and their families are the primary beneficiaries. This includes members of the Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air National Guard, and Army National Guard who are performing active service under accompanied PCS orders. Their children gain the right to attend DODEA schools at the military installation where the parent is stationed, with automatic enrollment if space is available or guaranteed placement on a wait-list if the school is full. This provides families with access to federally-funded education that is tuition-free and consistent across military installations, avoiding the disruption and cost of enrolling in local public or private schools during temporary active duty assignments.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Defense Education Activity bears the primary administrative burden of implementing this new eligibility requirement. DODEA administrators must process enrollment requests, manage wait-lists, and coordinate with reserve component personnel offices. DODEA schools on military installations may face capacity constraints as they accommodate additional students, which could require hiring more teachers or expanding facilities. Ultimately, taxpayers bear the marginal cost of educating these additional students in the DODEA system, though the bill does not include any explicit appropriation for this expansion.
Key Provisions
- Amends Title 10 USC Section 2164 to add a new subsection (n) creating DODEA eligibility for reserve component dependents
- Requires that reserve members be on active service pursuant to an accompanied permanent change of station order (not all active duty qualifies)
- Guarantees automatic enrollment if sufficient space exists at the DODEA school on the installation
- Mandates wait-list placement with priority consideration if the school is at capacity
- Applies to all military installations with DODEA schools, not just installations in the reserve member's home state
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Extends Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) school eligibility to dependents of reserve component members performing active service under permanent change of station orders
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Expand military education benefits to reserve component families during active duty periods, addressing equity gap between active and reserve force benefits"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Reserve component service members (Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air National Guard, Army National Guard)
- Dependents (children) of reserve component members on active duty with PCS orders
- Military families seeking continuity in education during temporary active duty assignments
Likely Burden Bearers
- Department of Defense Education Activity (administrative burden to process enrollments)
- DODEA schools on military installations (may face capacity constraints)
- Taxpayers (marginal cost of educating additional students in DODEA system)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "dodea"
- → Department of Defense Education Activity
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Defense (implied by Title 10 USC context)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A dependent of a member described in paragraph (2) (implicitly defined by existing Title 10 USC 2164 context)
A member of a reserve component who is (A) performing active service and (B) pursuant to an order for accompanied permanent change of station
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology