U.S. Department of State

Department of State Standardized Regulations - (Last updated 06/06/2010)

280 EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL (last updated 6/6/2010)

281 Definitions (interim eff. 6/6/2010 TL:SR-735; final eff. 7/4/2010 TL:SR-737)

For purposes of this subchapter:

a. "Educational travel" under authority of 5 USC 5924 means travel to and from a school offering a full-time course of secondary (in lieu of an education allowance) or post-secondary education. (interim eff. 6/6/2010 TL:SR-735; final eff. 7/4/2010 TL:SR-737)

b. "Secondary education" means attendance at a public or private school offering instruction at grade levels 9-12, or equivalent. (interim eff. 6/6/2010 TL:SR-735; final eff. 7/4/2010 TL:SR-737)

c. "Post-secondary education" is a full-time program at an accredited (1) university or college, including 2-year junior or community college, which offers academic courses leading to a degree, or (2) nursing, performing arts, technical, or vocational institution, leading to a degree, certification, or license.

d. "Child" means one of the children defined in Section 040m(2) and (4) and who is eligible for secondary or post-secondary education, except that the 21-year age limit is revised for educational travel in Section 284, Column III. (interim eff. 6/6/2010 TL:SR-735; final eff. 7/4/2010 TL:SR-737)

e. "Annual trip" means one round trip between the post and the school completed within a 12-month period.  The round trip may be taken at any time in each 12-month period.  Round trips or portions of round trips not taken in each 12-month period cannot be carried forward to a subsequent period.  (Please see 283.4 for other travel situations.)

282 Scope

Educational travel permits payment of a child’s travel expenses between school and the employee's post once each way annually for secondary or post-secondary education, except as otherwise provided in Section 284.  Under certain conditions prescribed in Section 284 such travel is authorized in addition to any other travel authorized for the child in connection with travel authorized for the employee.  No education allowance may be granted during the 12-month period following the arrival of the child at a selected educational institution using educational travel. (See Section 276.3.)

283 Standards For Authorization

Subject to the conditions in Section 284, the head of agency may authorize payment or reimbursement to the employee for expenses for a child’s travel between the child’s school and the employee's foreign post for one round trip annually.  Educational travel may originate from either the school or the post.

283.1 Anniversary Date for Travel

a.   Subsequent round trips may be authorized twelve months after the first leg of the first educational travel round trip.  After the anniversary date is established upon initial travel, it remains the same for subsequent trips.  Since schools have widely varying opening and closing dates, especially at the post-secondary level, a 30-day period prior to the anniversary date may be allowed on an individual case-by-case basis to be reimbursed when the child actually becomes eligible.  (The intent is to help ease scheduling problems and not to provide a benefit greater than that provided by law nor to allow earlier travel unrelated to education.)

b. When an employee transfers from one foreign post to another without a break in service, the anniversary date remains the same.  However, if an employee is assigned to the U.S. for more than a twelve month period, a new anniversary date is established.

283.2 Travel Before Eligibility

Except for the 30 day period provided in Section 283.1a, a child may not travel on educational travel orders and the employee may not be reimbursed for travel performed on such orders before the date the child is eligible to travel.

283.3 NOT CURRENTLY IN USE

283.4 Cost Construction of Travel in Other Situations (interim eff. 7/5/2009 TL:SR 711; final eff. 8/30/2009 TL:SR 715)

a. Reimbursement for any leg of educational travel may never exceed the cost of travel between the post and the school.

b. As determined by the authorizing officer, when travel to post is prohibited or otherwise impractical, travel may be allowed to/from an alternate location to meet the employee/parent who resides at post.  Restrictions on annual round trip eligibility and cost constructive reimbursement apply (see DSSR 283.1 and 283.4a, respectively).

284 Conditions of Educational Travel

Travel From Post to School:

Travel From School to Post:

285 Payment

285.1 Allowable Expenses

Actual expenses for the child's transportation, travel per diem within prescribed maximum rates when authorized by law, and expenses for transportation of unaccompanied personal baggage (UAB) may be included in payment or reimbursement for educational travel.  Student transportation rates, if available, must be authorized.  If student rates are not available, but other transportation is available at lower than first class fares, these lower rates must be authorized.  Travel to or from an alternate location may be authorized if cost-constructed so as not to exceed the contract fares (if available) between school and post. (Section 283.4b).  Should travel to an alternate destination cost more than the constructive Government costs between school and post, the employee must pay the difference.  Allowable UAB shipments can also be made on a cost constructed basis to the alternate location, but any required customs clearance/fees are the employee's personal responsibility.  No items such as household effects, automobiles, nor foodstuffs may be shipped to or from any school at Government expense.  At the election of the employee, in lieu of the transportation of the child's UAB from the child's school, the costs incurred to store the baggage at or in the vicinity of the school during the child's annual trip between the school and the employee's duty station may be paid or reimbursed to the employee, except that the amount of the payment or reimbursement may not exceed the cost that the Government would incur to transport the unaccompanied personal baggage in connection with the trip.

285.2 Other Regulations Governing Payment

Educational travel authorized under this subchapter shall be paid or reimbursed in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation and implementing regulations of the responsible Government agency, within the limitations of this subchapter.

285.3 Maximum Amount

Payment or reimbursement of educational travel expenses shall not exceed the amount of such allowable expenses as would accrue from direct travel between the employee's current foreign post and the school.

The authorizing officer shall assure through employee certification, review of previous educational travel grants or correspondence with posts that dependents are not scheduled in excess of one round trip for educational travel in a 12-month period.  (See Section 281e.)