§ 7703c — Plan And Authority To Assist Local Educational Agencies Experiencing Growth In Enrollment Due To Force Structure Changes, Relocation Of Military Units, Or Base Closures And Realignments

(a) Not later than January 1, 2007, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report setting forth a plan to provide assistance to local educational agencies that experience growth in the enrollment of military dependent students as a result of any of the following events: (1) Force structure changes. (2) The relocation of a military unit. (3) The closure or realignment of military installations pursuant to defense base closure and realignment under the base closure laws. (b) shall include the following: (1) An identification, current as of the date of the report, of the total number of military dependent students who are anticipated to be arriving at or departing from military installations as a result of any event described in subsection (a), including— (A) an identification of the military installations affected by such arrivals and departures; (B) an estimate of the number of such students arriving at or departing from each such installation; and (C) the anticipated schedule of such arrivals and departures. (2) Such recommendations as the Office of Economic Adjustment of the Department of Defense considers appropriate for means of assisting affected local educational agencies in accommodating increases in enrollment of military dependent students as a result of any such event. (3) A plan for outreach to be conducted to affected local educational agencies, commanders of military installations, and members of the Armed Forces and civilian personnel of the Department of Defense regarding information on the assistance to be provided under the plan under subsection (a). (1) The Secretary of Defense shall work collaboratively with the Secretary of Education in any efforts to ease the transitions of military dependent students from Department of Defense dependent schools to other schools and among schools of local educational agencies. (2) The Secretary of Defense may use funds of the Department of Defense Education Activity for the following purposes: (A) To share expertise and experience of the Activity with local educational agencies as military dependent students make the transitions described in paragraph (1), including transitions resulting from the closure or realignment of military installations under a base closure law, global rebasing, and force restructuring. (B) To provide grant assistance programs for local educational agencies with military dependent students undergoing the transitions described in paragraph (1), including programs on the following: (i) Access to virtual and distance learning capabilities and related applications. (ii) Training for teachers. (iii) Academic strategies to increase academic achievement. (iv) Curriculum development. (v) Support for practices that minimize the impact of transition and deployment. (vi) Other appropriate services to improve the academic achievement of such students. (d) In this section: (1) The term “base closure law” has the meaning given that term in section 101 of title 10. (2) The term “local educational agency” has the meaning given that term in section 7713(9) of this title. (3) The term “military dependent students” refers to— (A) elementary and secondary school students who are dependents of members of the Armed Forces; (B) elementary and secondary school students who are dependents of civilian employees of the Department of Defense; and (C) elementary and secondary school students who are dependents of personnel who are not members of the Armed Forces or civilian employees of the Department of Defense but who are employed on Federal property.