An upcoming report mandated by the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requires military departments to report back to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees on key military family readiness areas affecting defense communities.

“Basing Decision Scorecard”

Under section 2883, the law stipulates that requires “Secretaries of the military departments to factor military family readiness considerations, among other
relevant factors, in future basing decisions.” In order to achieve this, a “decision scorecard” would be used to factor-in military family readiness considerations in a service members basing process. The primary reason provided by the NDAA is to assist military family retention that considers a variety of considerations, including placement of families in the jurisdiction of quality public education accommodations.

Furthermore, the the NDAA mandates that the secretaries of the military departments must provide a briefing to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, and the Committee on Education and Labor for the House of Representatives and Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate not later than March 1, 2021.

The language of the NDAA stipulates that the report needs to provide a briefing on eight areas including:

1. Data on per pupil expenditures as reported under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-10) and available information on the impact of the loss of tax base caused by the presence of the military installation on such expenditures;
2. The methods for assessing academic performance, including academic performance of subgroups of students as defined under section 1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965;
3. The operative definition and method of assessment of “social climate;”
4. The method for assessing the availability of specialized instructional support personnel, mental health services, and other student support programs;
5. The extent to which the military department is using data reported under section 1111(h) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as part of their evaluation;
6. The availability of Head Start, Pre-Kindergarten, and high-quality and affordable childcare for children age birth to 5, including Department of Defense childcare and activities;
7. How the military departments are considering and weighing decisions made at the State level that impact local communities in their assessment of public schools; and
8. Measures to ensure transparency and uniformity in the application of the criteria to the strategic basing process.

Photo By Lt. Col. John Hall