Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-110
§1598 Assistance to Terminated Employees to Obtain Certification and Employment as Teachers or Employment as Teachers’ Aides
Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 81 — CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES › § 1598
Summary
The Secretary of Defense can create a program to help eligible civilian DoD and DOE employees who lose their jobs get certified and find work as elementary or secondary school teachers or as teachers’ aides. The program places them in schools that get Title I funds because they have many low-income students and that also have teacher or aide shortages. To be eligible, a person must have been laid off for reasons like defense spending cuts or base closure/realignment during the five-year period starting October 1, 1992 (the Secretary may also accept people laid off between October 1, 1990 and October 1, 1992). Teacher applicants must have a bachelor’s or higher degree. Teacher’s aide applicants must have at least an associate degree or a degree from a junior or community college. Applicants must apply after they get their termination notice. People with experience in science, math, or engineering—or other subjects the Secretary and the Secretary of Education name—get priority if they agree to seek jobs in those subjects. The Secretary may only pick people if funding is available. Selected employees must sign an agreement to earn the required certification or credentials within a time set by the Secretary and then accept a full-time job for at least two school years with a qualifying local school agency starting the school year after they are certified. Participants may get a stipend up to $5,000 or up to the covered education costs listed in the Higher Education Act, whichever is less. Anyone who received separation pay under 5 U.S.C. 5597 cannot receive the stipend. The stipend counts when checking federal student financial aid eligibility. Certain placement rules in other parts of the law, as they read on October 4, 1999, also apply.
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §1598
Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Placement Program.—
The Secretary of Defense may establish a program—
(1)to assist eligible civilian employees of the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy after the termination of their employment to obtain—
(A)certification or licensure as elementary or secondary school teachers; or
(B)the credentials necessary to serve as teachers’ aides; and
(2)to facilitate the employment of such employees by local educational agencies that—
(A)are receiving grants under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) as a result of having within their jurisdictions concentrations of children from low-income families; and
(B)are also experiencing a shortage of teachers or teachers’ aides.
(b)Eligible Employees.—
(1)A civilian employee of the Department of Defense or the Department of Energy shall be eligible for selection by the Secretary of Defense to participate in the placement program authorized by subsection (a) if the employee—
(A)during the five-year period beginning October 1, 1992, is terminated from such employment as a result of reductions in defense spending or the closure or realignment of a military installation, as determined by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Energy, as the case may be;
(B)has received—
(i)in the case of an employee applying for assistance for placement as an elementary or secondary school teacher, a baccalaureate or advanced degree from an accredited institution of higher education; or
(ii)in the case of an employee applying for assistance for placement as a teacher’s aide in an elementary or secondary school, an associate, baccalaureate, or advanced degree from an accredited institution of higher education or a junior or community college; and
(C)satisfies such other criteria for selection as the Secretary of Defense may prescribe.
(2)The Secretary of Defense may accept an application from a civilian employee referred to in paragraph (1) who was terminated during the period beginning on October 1, 1990, and ending on October 1, 1992, if the employee otherwise satisfies the eligibility criteria specified in that paragraph.
(c)Selection of Participants.—
(1)Selection of civilian employees to participate in the placement program shall be made on the basis of applications submitted to the Secretary of Defense after the employees receive a notice of termination. An application shall be filed within such time, in such form, and contain such information as the Secretary of Defense may require.
(2)In selecting participants to receive assistance for placement as elementary or secondary school teachers, the Secretary of Defense shall give priority to civilian employees who—
(A)have educational, military, or employment experience in science, mathematics, or engineering and agree to seek employment as science, mathematics, or engineering teachers in elementary or secondary schools; or
(B)have educational, military, or employment experience in another subject area identified by the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, as important for national educational objectives and agree to seek employment in that subject area in elementary or secondary schools.
(3)The Secretary of Defense may not select a civilian employee to participate in the program unless the Secretary has sufficient appropriations for the placement program available at the time of the selection to satisfy the obligations to be incurred by the United States under the program with respect to that member.
(d)Agreement.—
A civilian employee selected to participate in the placement program shall be required to enter into an agreement with the Secretary of Defense in which the employee agrees—
(1)to obtain, within such time as the Secretary may require, certification or licensure as an elementary or secondary school teacher or the necessary credentials to serve as a teacher’s aide in an elementary or secondary school; and
(2)to accept—
(A)in the case of an employee selected for assistance for placement as a teacher, an offer of full-time employment as an elementary or secondary school teacher for not less than two school years with a local educational agency identified under section 1151(b)(2) of this title, as in effect on October 4, 1999, to begin the school year after obtaining that certification or licensure; or
(B)in the case of an employee selected for assistance for placement as a teacher’s aide, an offer of full-time employment as a teacher’s aide in an elementary or secondary school for not less than two school years with a local educational agency identified under section 1151(b)(3) 1 of this title, as in effect on October 4, 1999, to begin the school year after obtaining the necessary credentials.
(e)Stipend for Participants.—
(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense shall pay to each participant in the placement program a stipend in an amount equal to the lesser of—
(A)$5,000; or
(B)the total costs of the type described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (8), and (9) 1 of section 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll) incurred by the participant while obtaining teacher certification or licensure or the necessary credentials to serve as a teacher’s aide and employment as an elementary or secondary school teacher or teacher aide.
(2)A civilian employee selected to participate in the placement program who receives separation pay under section 5597 of title 5 shall not be paid a stipend under paragraph (1).
(3)A stipend paid under paragraph (1) shall be taken into account in determining the eligibility of the participant for Federal student financial assistance provided under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).
(f)Placement of Participants as Teachers and Teachers’ Aides.—
Subsections (h) through (k) of section 1151 1 of this title, as in effect on October 4, 1999, shall apply with respect to the placement program authorized by this section.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, referred to in subsec. (a)(2)(A), is Pub. L. 89–10, Apr. 11, 1965, 79 Stat. 27. Title I of the Act is classified generally to subchapter I (§ 6301 et seq.) of chapter 70 of Title 20, Education. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 6301 of Title 20 and Tables. section 1151 of this title, referred to in subsecs. (d)(2)(A), (B) and (f), was repealed by Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title XVII, § 1707(a)(1), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 823, and a new section 1151 of this title was subsequently added by Pub. L. 109–364, § 561(a). section 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, referred to in subsec. (e)(1)(B), which is classified to section 1087ll of Title 20, Education, was generally amended by Pub. L. 116–260, div. FF, title VII, § 702(b), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 3138. For provisions similar to former pars. (1), (2), (3), (8), and (9), see subsec. (a)(1), (2), (5), (9), and (10), respectively, of section 1087ll of Title 20. The Higher Education Act of 1965, referred to in subsec. (e)(3), is Pub. L. 89–329, Nov. 8, 1965, 79 Stat. 1219. Title IV of the Act is classified generally to subchapter IV (§ 1070 et seq.) of chapter 28 of Title 20, Education. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 1001 of Title 20 and Tables.
Amendments
2000—Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title X, § 1087(a)(11)(A)], inserted “as in effect on
October 4, 1999,” after “of this title,” in subpars. (A) and (B). Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title X, § 1087(a)(11)(B)], inserted “, as in effect on
October 4, 1999,” after “of this title”. 1996—Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 104–106 substituted “6301” for “2701”. Subsec. (d)(2)(A), (B). Pub. L. 104–201 substituted “two school years” for “five school years”. 1994—Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 103–382 struck out “chapter 1 of” after “grants under”. 1993—Subsec. (d)(2)(A), (B). Pub. L. 103–160 substituted “five school years” for “two school years”. Subsec. (e)(4). Pub. L. 103–35 struck out par. (4) which read as follows: “A person who receives a stipend under section 4436 of this title shall not be paid a stipend pursuant to paragraph (1).”
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1993 Amendment Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title XIII, § 1331(h), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1793, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by subsections (c) and (d) [amending this section and section 4703 of this title and former section 1151 of this title] shall not apply with respect to— “(1) persons selected by the Secretary of Defense before the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 30, 1993] to participate in the teacher and teacher’s aide placement programs established pursuant to section 1151 [repealed], 1598, and 2410j [now 10 U.S.C. 4703] of title 10, United States Code; or “(2) agreements entered into by the Secretary before such date with local educational agencies under such sections.”
Savings Provision
Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title V, § 576(d), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2535, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by this section [amending this section and section 4703 of this title and former section 1151 of this title] do not affect obligations under agreements entered into in accordance with section 1151 [repealed], 1598, or 2410j [now 10 U.S.C. 4703] of title 10, United States Code, before the date of the enactment of this Act [Sept. 23, 1996].”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 1598
Title 10, Armed Forces
Last Updated
Sep 23, 2026
Release point: 119-110