Students walk into a Department of Defense Education Activity school in this undated photo. President Donald Trump's fiscal 2027 budget request includes provisions for a program that would allow eligible military families to "access higher performing schools when local options are insufficient," according to Defense Department budget documents. (Michael O’Day/DODEA)
A tuition voucher program proposed for military families stateside is being touted by the White House as a way to give Defense Department personnel more say in their children’s education.
President Donald Trump’s 2027 budget request includes $869.5 million for a school voucher program for the Department of Defense Education Activity.
The initiative would provide tuition assistance of $15,500 per student per year, giving eligible families alternatives “when local options are insufficient,” according to Defense Department budget documents.
The proposal is in accordance with an executive order Trump issued last year, shortly after his second term began. The directive called for a review of how Pentagon personnel could use DOD funds to send children to the school of their choice.
Titled “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families,” it mentions private and faith-based schools as well as public charter schools.
Supporters of such programs say they give parents more flexibility to pick the best educational environment for their children using government funds.
Critics argue that vouchers divert money from public schools, eroding resources for students enrolled in them.
The proposal outlined in Trump’s budget request doesn’t appear to include installations overseas, where a majority of DODEA students are located.
As of June, about 47,000 pupils were registered at DODEA schools in Europe and the Pacific, compared with about 19,000 stateside, according to agency figures.
DODEA, which also goes by the Department of War Education Activity, on Tuesday declined to provide further information about the initiative until funding is confirmed.
The agency “remains strongly committed to supporting the educational success of military-connected students, both by expanding educational choice for military families and by enhancing” the department’s school system worldwide, spokeswoman Jessica Tackaberry said in a statement.
Though officials have released few details about how the program would work, some information is laid out in a posting this month on the government’s contracting website, SAM.gov.
The announcement seeks information from contractors capable of providing a “commercially available, proven platform” to administer the proposed program.
While DODEA “has considerable experience administering large-scale grant and tuition payment programs, this specific voucher structure represents a new initiative,” the document states.
The initiative would support about 11,000 dependents of active-duty military personnel located at U.S. bases or installations, with an annual estimated budget of $175 million.
Among the capabilities the DOD said it wanted, according to the contracting website, was “enhanced oversight of homeschool vouchers to ensure adherence to applicable state laws and documentation of tutor hours.”
Other components of managing the program include tracking student performance and ensuring the voucher money is spent properly.
The announcement notes that the funding would hinge on congressional approval.
A limited school-choice pilot program for DODEA families living in Bahrain failed to make it out of Congress two years ago. The proposal was floated by Republican legislators following complaints about poor parent-teacher communication, dwindling academic offerings and substandard teaching at the schools serving Naval Support Activity Bahrain.
