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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q. What is the “NDSP”? A. The “NDSP” stands for the Non-DoD Schools Program. The DoD Education Activity (DoDEA) oversees the program worldwide through the management of the DoDDS-Europe, DoDDS-Pacific and DDESS Area Offices. The program was established to provide educational guidance and financial support to eligible DoD sponsors assigned to foreign locations to facilitate opportunities for access to available educational program comparable to that offered in the DoDEA that will support the transition of students to public schools in the United States. Q. How do I know if my dependent is eligible for educational funding through the NDSP? A. Eligibility to attend a non-DoD school at Government expense is limited to command-sponsored dependents only. A command sponsored dependent is a minor residing with the active duty military or full-time DoD civilian sponsor at an OCONUS location whre an accompanied-by-dependent tour is authorized; the sponsor is authorized to serve that tour, and where the dependents meet the following criteria: (1) The dependent is eligible for travel to or from the member’s permanent duty station; (2) The dependent is authorized by the appropriate authority to be at the member’s permanent duty station; and (3) As a result of the dependent’s residence in the vicinity of the sponsor’s permanent duty station, the sponsor is entitled to station allowance at the “with family” rate. Q. How do I enroll my child in a non-DoD School? A. Contact your local Non-DoD Schools Program (NDSP) liaison. He/She will provide you with a NDSP Application Package containing: (1) Application for Enrollment (DoDEA form 610), (2) Request for Reimbursement of Transportation Expenses, (3) Verification of Eligibility, and (4) Funds Request Sheet (FRS). Each of these forms need to be filled out COMPLETELY and returned to your local NDSP liaison. He/She will forward your completed application package to the NDSP, Program Manager, Ms. Melissa Clark. She will review the package and approve/disapprove eligibility for enrollment. Once you receive notice that your child/children’s eligibility for enrollment has/have been approved THEN, and only then, can you proceed to enroll your child into the non-DoD school of your choice. DDESS MUST APPROVE ELIGIBILITY FOR ENROLLMENT AND FUNDING BEFORE THE CHILD IS ENROLLED IN THE NON-DOD SCHOOL. Enrolling the child prior to approval may result in denial of funds from the NDSP. Q. How do I know my child will receive a quality education at a non-DoD School? Also, how can we insure that our child will be placed in the correct grade upon our return from overseas? A. Base schools are certified by the Department of State-Office of Overseas Schools to ensure educational standards and curriculums are equivalent to those in U.S. public schools. Parents are entitled, through freedom of choice (“Selection of School”, DSR 272.3), to enroll their child/children in a school other than the base school. The responsibility of gathering information on curriculum and educational standards, then comparing that data to the base school, would then be that of the parents and the local NDSP liaison. For children in high-school, special attention should be focused on graduation requirements for seniors who will be returning to the States for their senior year to ensure all graduation requirements are being met. It should be noted that reimbursement for tuition and allowable expenses is limited to that of the base school. Q. How do I get approval and funding to use home-based educational programs for my child? A. NDSP liaisons can provide you with a NDSP application package and a list of allowable and non-allowable expenses for home-based education. Once you have completed the application package it should be returned to your NDSP liaison who will forward it to the NDSP Program Manager for processing. Once approved, the sponsor can begin purchasing materials for use in the home-based educational program. Standard allowance rates for those choosing to home school their children are K-8, up to $5,700 and 9-12, up to $7,700. Receipts and/or proof of purchases are required for all items being claimed, and should be submitted to your local NDSP liaison along with a Funds Request Sheet. He/she will submit to the NDSP Program Manager for funding. (SR 274.12.b and SR 277.3.a) Q. How do we find the correct information on school policies? How do we insure that this information is given to the MILGP/USDAOs when a change has been made? A. The local NDSP liaison is responsible for informing sponsors of changes in Program policies. The liaison is responsible for maintaining communications with the local non-DoD schools and their changing school policies. Changes to the NDSP policies and regulations are distributed to all NDSP liaisons by the NDSP Program Manager, and are then distributed to the Embassy, Commands and Sponsors, as appropriate. Additionally, the NDSP-Americas website has the most up-to-date regulations, policies and forms: www.am.dodea.edu/ndsp. Q. What if the DSSR for a location isn’t enough to cover the costs of tuition and other allowable expenses in our location? How can the Embassy get that changed so the parents are not paying out of pocket? A. The Budget/Finance Office at the U.S. Embassy would need to submit a form DS-63 to the State Department, Education Allowances Office, Attn: Ms. Audrey Thurman, facsimile (202) 261-8707. Forms requesting adjustments need to be received by June 15 in order for changes to allowances to be made for the following school year. Ms. Thurman works directly with the Embassies to make appropriate adjustments to the DSSR education allowance rates. In cases where a change to the DSSR for a location’s education allowance is made mid-year, the sponsor will benefit from the higher DSSR rate for the entire school year. Allowable expense amounts that were over the previous DSSR allowance and paid out of pocket by the sponsor can be resubmitted and paid under the new DSSR rate. Q. What are “one time fees”? When are they funded and for how much? How many times they can be claimed? A. One time fees are non-refundable fees that the foreign school charges only once per student or per family when initially enrolling in their school and are not charged upon reenrollment in subsequent school years. These fees include, but are not limited to registration fees, matriculation fees, construction fees, admission fees, infrastructure funds fees, building fees, etc. The NDSP agrees to pay non-refundable, one time fees equal to the total amount of one time fees charged at the base school. These fees must be listed on the publicized school tuition fee schedule, and they must be fees that are applicable to the local families when they enroll their children. Claims for reimbursement of one time fees do not decrease your amount allowable for tuition and other allowable expenses under the DSSR rate – reimbursement for one time fees are funded in addition to the DSSR education allowance. “One Time Fees” are just that…only paid ONCE during an assignment except in certain cases when:
Q. Does the NDSP fund testing and evaluation of services for non-severe learning education needs? A. State Department Regulation 276.8, “Special Needs Child”, states that NDSP will pay for diagnostics testing and for items specifically mandated by a child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP). It should be noted that the DSSR for special needs children is not regulated by country or location. NDSP will reimburse up to $26,800 for special needs education per student, per school year. In addition to the DSSR allowance, funding for tutoring and summer school is reimbursed if deemed mandatory by the child’s IEP. If testing or assessment facilities are not available locally, arrangements can be made through the NDSP for Stateside assessment at either a Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary School (DDESS) site or through coordination with another medical facility (i.e. Walter Reed). The NDSP is authorized to fund the travel and certain other expenses related to the assessment. Logistical and assessment arrangements are handled directly with the NDSP Program Manager and NDSP Education Support Specialist. Q. Is there an update on travel authorization for students in the U.S. to visit home in Latin America? A. NOTE: This is a trick question! If the students are attending schools in the U.S. they are not attending a non-DoD school. Therefore, the responsibility for that child to be reimbursed for travel to Latin America from the U.S. would fall to the military command, not the NDSP. (State Regulation 276.3) Q. What financial assistance is available to cover unexpected expenses such as SAT fees ($15 fee to take the test overseas)? A. SAT and similar testing fees (ACT) are not reimbursable through the NDSP (SR 277, “Allowable Expenses”.) PSAT testing fees are reimbursable for 10-11 grade students only. Courses designed for preparation of the PSAT, SAT or ACT are not authorized for reimbursement. The only exception to the regulation would be Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) course-related exams or tests. Q. How does one enroll a child with special needs in the Non-DoD Schools Program? A. If you are new to post and this is your first time enrolling your child in the NDSP, you will need to contact your NDSP liaison immediately to facilitate a smooth transition and continuity of services for your dependent. In addition to the NDSP application package, we ask that the sponsor submit any previous documentation to support the identification and services needed to support your child’s special needs. This may include copies of previous assessments, Individual Education Plan (IEP) from previous school, Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) reports/assessments or letters or standardized test results from pervious school enrolled. The DSSR Educational Allowance for special needs children is up to $26,800 per school year, per student. In addition to the DSSR, up to $3,000 per school year, per student is allowed for tutoring and summer school - as directly mandated by the IEP. For returning students on an IEP, progress reports may be requested to monitor effectiveness of services. Your NDSP liaison has application/eligibility forms. Q. Will preschool ever be funded under the NDSP? Some parents are concerned that their child is at a disadvantage as pre-kindergarten is extremely expensive overseas. A. At this time, preschool is not funded through the NDSP. This decision is based upon the fact that in the U.S. preschool is not mandatory for entry into kindergarten, nor is it provided by U.S. public schools free of charge. Q. What additional funding support is available for students whose education is funded by SAO or T-20 funds? A. Students whose tuition and annual fees are funded with SAO or T-20 funding are still eligible for NDSP funding for special education services and/or supplemental instruction needs. Enrollment in the NDSP and supporting documentation of needs is required before funding can be authorized. NDSP liaisons should enroll and track all students receiving educational support in accordance with the NDSP regulations so that supplemental instruction support and special needs support is extended to all eligible sponsors and their dependents. Q. Why and where in the regulation does it say that PTA charges should be paid by the parents? A. DoDEA Regulation 1035.1, Enclosure 4, E4.8 Miscellaneous. The reason it is an unauthorized cost for reimbursement is that PTA/PTO dues are a fee that parents pay out of pocket when attending a tax-supported public school in the United States. Q. The local non-DoD school is requiring uniforms for certain functions this year. Are we authorized reimbursement for these? Its one shirt and one jacket for each child. A. Uniforms of any kind are an unauthorized expense for reimbursement IAW DoDEA Regulation 1035.1, Enclosure 4, E4.15. Q. We have an individual whose child has been back in the states living with his mom. A decision was made to have the child move to post to live with dad…unexpectedly. The individual is having his sending command amend his order to show command sponsorship. The question is; since he hasn’t received those new orders yet and school is starting, can he pay out of pocket now and then get reimbursed for the costs after he receives the orders? Or would he not be eligible until he receives the amended orders? A. In situations where command-sponsorship of a dependent has been formally requested through the chain of command, the NDSP Program Manager will work with the sending command to verify status of request. Each situation will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and every effort will be made to support the educational continuity of the DoD dependent where possible. Q. For a student receiving a home-based education, are proctoring fees reimbursable? What about fees for extending testing dates due to PCSing? A. When proof that a proctored test must be administered as part of the home-based educational programs curriculum, proctoring fees will be reimbursed by the NDSP. Additionally, when required testing needs to be rescheduled because of transition issues, the NDSP is authorized to reimburse, within reasonable limits. Q. I would like to know the NDSP funding policy regarding a student enrolled in a non-DoD school (senior year) whose sponsor has to leave early. Will NDSP pay the entire school year tuition and related fees? A. Yes. For continuity of education for the dependent, NDSP regulation authorized continued payment of expenses through the completion of the current school year for a dependent whose sponsor transfers during the school year. Q. Will NDSP approve and fund fees for a religious school? A. Yes. The parent has the freedom to choose any school they feel best meets the educational needs of their child. However, the reimbursement of educational expenses is limited to the DSSR educational allowance rate. The DSSR rate is typically calculated using the fees charged by the base school. Part of the criteria for a base school is that is does not mandate denominational religious instruction, so it is possible the DSSR rate may not cover all fees incurred. Parent would be responsible for any amounts which exceed the DSSR rate. |