Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

20 United States Code (U.S.C.) 926(b) provides the basis for the DoDEA to support school-aged dependents in overseas locations where there are no DoD-operated schools. This same provision requires the NDSP to align with the Department of State Standardized Regulation (section 270) to the maximum extent practicable. As a result, and only for dependents eligible for the NDSP, is there a home study education allowance. While DoD-connected dependents can homeschool in locations where the DoDEA operates schools, they are not afforded an education allowance to do so. 

The education allowance is intended to assist employees to meet the extraordinary and necessary expenses incurred by reason of service in a foreign area, not otherwise compensated for, in providing an adequate elementary or secondary education for their dependent children. Reimbursement is limited to costs for educational services normally provided free of charge in U.S. public schools and for the purpose of the newly established guidance, the reimbursement is based upon that which is at no cost to a public-school student in the District of Columbia or one of the adjacent counties in Maryland or Virginia (referred to as the DMV). 

While the law does not specifically discuss home study/private instruction/virtual schooling, it is in the best interest of the USG to ensure students enrolled in a home study course, private instruction or virtual schooling in a foreign area are able to reintegrate into a public education system when they return to the United States.  

The education allowance can only be used to reimburse items authorized by the statute. The allowance is not currently subject to Federal Income Tax and for that reason documentation associated with those disbursements is a requirement to ensure that those funds are used only for authorized, necessary purposes. 

Congress requires an accounting of all allowances from agencies approximately every five years. If an employee were given an amount of money without documentation this could move their allowance to taxable income. It is not so simple as to just advance this allowance. Regulations for USG funding which result in personal property require a burden of proof given that the U.S. taxpayer is ultimately paying for items that will result in the sponsor’s personal property. 

The intent of the required documentation is two-fold.  

1. Fiduciary Requirement: Home study in the United States and DoDEA-operated school locations is a personal choice with the main burden of expense is on the parent. However, in an NDSP location there is an education allowance available to the sponsor. As with any federal government funding, there is a minimum requirement to demonstrate evidence of appropriate and necessary use of funds, particularly when the items will become the personal property of the sponsor. For this reason, the NDSP requires the use of the Home Study Reimbursement Tool along with your receipts and paid invoices. 
2. Educational/Academic Requirement: It is typically a requirement in the United States for home study families to provide evidence of adequate educational progress that is commensurate with local state standards. For this reason, the NDSP requires that you provide an annual Home Study Education Plan.  

The home study plan is an annual requirement should a sponsor elect home study as their education option. The Plan is comprised of two parts.   

Part I of the Home Study Education Plan is used to document to what state standards the sponsor will aligning their child’s curriculum and allows a sponsor to self-certify that they will monitor progress to ensure that their child is receiving an adequate home school or virtual school education that will allow them to successfully transition to the next grade level or to return to CONUS on grade level with their peers.  

Part II of the plan is to document the planned curriculum and requisite educational materials that the sponsor plans to use during the school year. Curriculum materials must have a demonstrable connection to the curriculum being taught. Educational materials that do not directly support or inform the planned curriculum may not be reimbursable. The Part II document has a function by which the sponsor may request pre-approval of education materials they may not be sure of. For more information, please contact the NDSP Home Study Team

The NDSP does not reimburse certain general supplies that are typically provided by parents in public schools in the DMV. These supplies typically include but are not limited to items such as notebook paper, binders, composition books, notebooks, pens and pencils, markers, crayons, beginner watercolor sets, rulers, protractors and compasses, facial tissue, and scientific calculators. This guidance applies to all NDSP students.

If a parent believes that an item has been inappropriately rejected, the claim may be resubmitted to the NDSP Home Study Team with a request for reconsideration. Reviews are conducted by the Home Study Education Review Committee. The committee is comprised of members of Program Management. Resource Management, regional NDSP Education teams, and the NDSP Program Manager. The result of a review conducted by the committee is final.

No. To be eligible for the NDSP, your child must turn five years old prior to 31 December of the year of enrollment. Even if the school is willing to allow the child to enroll, your child would not meet the minimum age criteria for the NDSP.

The sponsor portal provides the following access to:

• Viewing and updating sponsor demographic information
• Viewing Paid invoices and funding status
• Creating Home Study Reimbursement claims
• Uploading invoices, extensions, key documents
• Annual Reregistration

A sponsor has access when they receive an eligibility review memorandum from the NDSP Management Team. The sponsor must use the email address that they originally used to apply for the NDSP. Once an account is established, the sponsor may fully use the portal and update their information as needed.

For the purposes of this program “available” is defined as any student transportation offered or arranged by either the school, or the USG.

The priority of options for student transportation are:

(a) If the school or the USG provides or arranges student transportation that must be your first option. (b) If the school or USG does not provide transportation, then you may instead opt to use commercial sources such as public transportation, taxis or private transport through Uber or a similar vendor, or you may elect to drive your children to and from school and request reimbursement for mileage.

For additional information regarding student transportation, please contact the NDSP Management Team (ndsp.management@dodea.edu).

No, generally the NDSP can pay the school directly avoiding out of pocket costs for the sponsor. For students attending an At Post or Away from Post school, the Resource Management (RM) team will work in partnership with the school to pay them directly. The sponsor should receive the invoice, review for accuracy, annotate any discrepancy, then submit the invoice to NDSP via the Sponsor Portal for payment to the school. The NDSP RM team will process the allowable fees on the invoice resulting in direct payment to the school.

Typically, application fees are the only out-of-pocket expenses that a sponsor may initially incur, then seek reimbursement. Application fees are reimbursable to the sponsor directly upon the sponsor and dependent’s arrival at the overseas assignment. One-time and annual fees are typically included in the first invoice from the school along with tuition fees and in certain cases, student transportation fees. 

NDSP funding is predicated upon the sponsor and dependents traveling to the new assignment and starting the overseas tour. There are statutory limitations to our program’s authority to pay invoices if the sponsor does not travel to the overseas assignment. Once the sponsor and family have arrived overseas and the overseas tour begins, the NDSP will process allowable reimbursements, and refund the allowable application fees. We caution sponsors to avoid paying any other fees out-of-pocket, especially prior to travel overseas. If for any reason a sponsor is unable to execute the PCS order for the overseas assignment, any fees paid by the sponsor to the school prior to arrival will not be reimbursed.

The Home Study education option is funded on a reimbursable basis. The sponsor is responsible for completing a Home Study Education Plan, submitting the plan for review, documenting their purchases on the Home Study Reimbursement tool via the Sponsor Portal. The RM team will review and process the HRT claim and receipts for reimbursements directly to the sponsor.

Virtual school invoices may be paid directly to the school by the RM team, or the sponsor may elect to pay out-of-pocket then seek reimbursement. 

The NDSP can process payments directly to a SPED provider, transportation vendor, and educational school. The service provider’s banking information will need to be on file with the NDSP pay system. If the service provider is not within the NDSP pay system, the banking information will need to be submitted by the service provider via a Payment Information Form (PIF).

To direct the NDSP to process a payment to a service provider, the NDSP Provider Claim Form will need to be submitted by the sponsor along with an accompanying official vendor invoice reflecting the date and type of services, as well as the student(s) name for payment processing. Both the service provider and the sponsor's signatures are required on the claim form for audit purposes.

Although we endeavor to ensure that our program covers as many expenses as possible, there are some instances when a school’s fees may exceed the authorized education allowance or may not be authorized for funding. The Education Allowance is based upon that which would otherwise be at no cost to a parent with a child enrolled in schools in Washington D.C., and the neighboring counties in Maryland and Virginia (DMV). In addition, some non-allowable fees violate DoD fiscal law (e.g., meals, uniforms).

The DoDEA Administrative Instruction 5035.01 is mandated by federal statute to align with the Department of State (DoS) Standardized Regulations (DSSR) 270 to the maximum extent practicable. The DoS publishes an Education Allowance for post locations around the world. The NDSP utilizes the DoS Education Allowance to ensure equity and alignment.

Fiscal law mandates that without specific statutory authority, appropriated funds are not available for personal expenses or the procurement of items for personal gain. Therefore, any expenses that are not authorized for funding become the sponsor’s responsibility.

Yes, you have the option to choose any school that you believe will best suit your child’s needs, being cognizant of the education allowance for your location. If that school does not offer instruction in English and your child needs foreign language instruction, then you would work with your regional Education Specialist to request pre-authorization to utilize academic support funding.

If the school or the USG provides or arranges for student transportation, and you elect to not use those services, reimbursement for POV mileage or commercial travel costs are not allowed.

If student transportation is not provided by the school or USG, you can choose to use commercial, public transportation resources, or you can drive your children to school and request reimbursement for mileage, but not for fuel. If there are extenuating circumstances that would make school provided transportation impractical, please contact the NDSP Management Team (ndsp.management@dodea.edu) for further information.

No, we cannot reimburse the purchase of a musical instrument, but we can fund the rental cost for an instrument if it is to be used in conjunction with a band program that occurs during the school day. We cannot fund rental costs for musical instruments or other items associated with an after-school or extra-curricular activity.

Changing schools mid-year can be challenging, but it is certainly possible. As a first measure, we recommend you contact your regional NDSP Education Specialist. Often, our regional Education Specialist teams can provide advice and guidance to help you navigate concerns with your child’s school. Should you decide to proceed with a change of school you may opt to switch to another At Post private or public school, a boarding school, or you may switch to a home study or virtual school option. A parent’s right to choose their child’s school or mode of education is a personal choice. However, there are financial considerations that must be taken into account. Here are some key points that you must keep in mind when considering a change of school:

• Be aware of the refund policies for your child’s school. Not all schools offer refunds of tuition and fees.
• If you withdraw your child and the NDSP has already funded your child’s tuition and fees, that allowance will be offset by the amount paid, and any refund of tuition and fees from the school may be credited back to the education allowance balance. You can track your child’s available funding information via the Sponsor Portal.

One-time fees are paid once per tour of duty. If the NDSP has already paid them, then we cannot pay those fees for a second time. For more information about one-time fees, exceptions, and changes of school, please contact the NDSP Management (ndsp.management@dodea.edu) team.

Yes, all NDSP sponsors must annually reregister. Failing to reregister can delay invoice payments.

Reregistration Portal Opens:

• Northern Hemisphere schools -1 February through 31 August.
• Southern Hemisphere schools -1 November through 30 January. 

No, however, you should access the Sponsor Portal and use the reregistration tool to notify the NDSP that your overseas tour will not continue into the new school year. Many schools have a designated date noted in the school contract that requires that you acknowledge and notify them of continued enrollment or withdrawal for the next school year. It is important to notify the school in writing of your enrollment intentions. Failure to notify the school can result in the assessment of a penalty fee that the NDSP cannot pay.

No, your child must be enrolled as a full-board student. Weekly boarding is allowed only in limited circumstances and in specific locations and still requires the student to lodge at the school’s boarding facility. For more information, contact the NDSP Management Team ndsp.management@dodea.edu.