# 2025-23761: Education Dept Limits Blind Vendors' Army Dining Priority

2025-23761, 34 CFR Part 395 Limitation of the Randolph-Sheppard Vending Facility Program Priority for the Department of the Army, is a Federal Register notice from Education Department published 2025-12-23, effective 2025-12-23 (as of 2026-06-08).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-23761
- As of: 2026-06-08
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2025-23761
- Title: 34 CFR Part 395 Limitation of the Randolph-Sheppard Vending Facility Program Priority for the Department of the Army
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: Education Department
- Citation: 90 FR 60078
- Published: 2025-12-23
- Effective: 2025-12-23
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: no
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-06-08

## In one line

Education Dept Limits Blind Vendors' Army Dining Priority

## Summary

Starting December 23, 2025, the Department of Education is limiting the special priority that lets blind entrepreneurs run dining facilities on Army bases. This change affects new Army dining contracts and aims to protect U.S. interests while still supporting blind business owners elsewhere. If you’re involved with Army dining contracts or the Randolph-Sheppard program, watch for these new rules going forward!

## Abstract

The Secretary has found that the placement and operation of dining facilities (DFACs), through the Randolph-Sheppard priority, on Department of the Army installations adversely affects the interests of the United States. As such, the Secretary has approved a limitation of the Randolph-Sheppard priority for the Department of the Army's DFAC contracts.

## Effects PRIA read

- Army DFAC Randolph‑Sheppard Priority Removed: cost, medium. Starting December 23, 2025, the Department of Education approved a limitation of the Randolph‑Sheppard priority for Department of the Army dining facility (DFAC) contracts. That means blind entrepreneurs no longer have the statutory priority for Army DFAC contracts entered into after that date; cur…
- Blind Vendors Still Allowed To Compete: benefit, low. Even though the Randolph‑Sheppard priority is limited for Army DFAC contracts after December 23, 2025, blind vendors may still submit bids for those DFAC contracts. They will, however, compete without the statutory priority for Department of the Army DFAC contracts entered into after the publicatio…
- Limitation Aimed To Reduce Higher DFAC Costs: benefit, medium. The Department of the Army reported instances where SLA proposals were about 33 percent higher and where SLA-linked proposals resulted in a cumulative $164 million more over a five‑year period compared with lowest price technically acceptable offers. The limitation is justified to avoid those highe…
- Arbitration Delays Cited (801‑Day Average): benefit, medium. The Department of the Army reported that arbitrations tied to Randolph‑Sheppard disputes averaged 801 days, and the Secretary found it unreasonable to expect the Army to face arbitrations that can last more than two years. The limitation is intended to avoid such long arbitration delays in awarding…
- DFAC Food Safety and Performance Concerns Noted: benefit, medium. The Department of the Army reported performance issues with Randolph‑Sheppard DFAC contracts including nutrition shortfalls, sanitation problems (such as cross‑contamination and improper labeling), food safety concerns (including foreign objects), and missing documentation of employee training. The…

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## Sources
- [2025-23761 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/23/2025-23761/34-cfr-part-395-limitation-of-the-randolph-sheppard-vending-facility-program-priority-for-the)
- [2025-23761 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-12-23/pdf/2025-23761.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2025-23760, Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Re…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-23760)
- [Next: 2025-23762, Agency Information Collection Activities; Approval of a New Information Collect…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-23762)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-23761 (as of 2026-06-08).