Legal Definitions - DODDS

DODDS stands for the Department of Defense Dependents Schools.

The Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DODDS) refers to the system of schools operated by the United States Department of Defense. These schools provide education to the children of U.S. military service members and civilian employees who are assigned to duty stations outside the United States. Their purpose is to ensure that dependents of personnel serving abroad receive a consistent and high-quality American education, similar to what they would receive stateside.

Here are some examples illustrating how DODDS applies:

• Imagine a U.S. Air Force family is transferred from a base in Texas to a new assignment at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Their two elementary school-aged children would attend the local DODDS school on or near the base, rather than a German public school or a private international school.

  This example demonstrates DODDS providing education for the children of military personnel stationed overseas, ensuring they receive an American curriculum.

• Consider a U.S. civilian engineer working for the Department of Defense at a naval base in Yokosuka, Japan. If this engineer has a middle school-aged son, that son would be eligible to enroll in the DODDS middle school located near the base, receiving instruction from U.S.-certified teachers.

  This illustrates that DODDS also serves the children of U.S. civilian employees of the Department of Defense who are assigned to international posts.

• A U.S. Marine Corps family frequently moves between different overseas assignments, for instance, from Okinawa, Japan, to Naples, Italy. Their children's academic records and curriculum would seamlessly transfer between the DODDS schools in both locations, maintaining educational continuity despite the international moves.

  This highlights a key benefit and function of the DODDS system – providing a standardized and transferable educational experience across various international postings for military and civilian families.