10 U.S.C. § 1784a — Education and training opportunities for military spouses to expand employment and portable career opportunities
submitted 18 years ago by Pub. L. 110-417 to r/title-10-ARMED-FORCES · 485 words · no verdicts yet
The Secretary of Defense may create programs or provide tuition assistance for eligible military spouses pursuing education, training, licenses, or credentials that expand employment and portable careers. The section requires assistance for specified doula and lactation-consultant certifications and excludes legally separated spouses and spouses who are also service members.
(a) Programs and Tuition Assistance. (1) The Secretary may create programs to help a spouse described in (b) obtain: (A) education and training for a degree or credential from an accredited United States college, university, or technical school that expands the spouse’s employment and portable-career opportunities; or (B) education prerequisites and a professional license or credential required by a government or government-sanctioned licensing body for such an occupation. (2) Instead of or in addition to a program, the Secretary may give tuition assistance to an eligible spouse pursuing education, training, a license, or a credential to expand those opportunities. (b) Eligible Spouses. (1) Assistance is limited to a spouse of an armed-forces member serving on active duty*. (2) A spouse who qualifies and begins a qualifying course does not become ineligible to finish it solely because the member is promoted to a higher grade*. (c) Exceptions. (b) does not include: (1) a person married to but legally separated from an armed-forces member under a court order or a State or territorial statute; or (2) a spouse who is also an armed-forces member. (d) Doula and IBCLC Certifications. In carrying out (a), the Secretary must help a spouse described in (b) obtain certification: (1) as a doula or International Board Certified Lactation Consultant; and (2) provided by an organization reimbursed under the cited extramedical maternal health providers demonstration project. (e) Portable Career Opportunities Defined. “Portable career” includes an occupation the Secretary, consulting the Secretary of Labor, identifies as requiring education and training leading to a credential recognized nationwide by industry or specific businesses. This section does not otherwise define “portable career.” (f) Regulations. The Secretary must prescribe rules governing the availability and use of assistance. The Secretary must ensure that programs do not treat spouses inequitably when those spouses are also service members, because (c)(2) excludes them.
The Secretary of Defense may establish programs to assist the spouse of a member of the armed forces* described in subsection (b) in achieving—
the education and training required for a degree or credential at an accredited college, university, or technical school in the United States that expands employment and portable career opportunities for the spouse; or
the education prerequisites and professional licensure or credential required, by a government or government sanctioned licensing body, for an occupation that expands employment and portable career opportunities for the spouse.
As an alternative to, or in addition to, establishing a program under this subsection, the Secretary may provide tuition assistance to an eligible spouse who is pursuing education, training, or a license or credential to expand the spouse’s employment and portable career opportunities.
Assistance under this section is limited to a spouse of a member of the armed forces who is serving on active duty*.
A spouse who is eligible for a program under this section and begins a course of education or training for a degree, license, or credential described in subsection (a) may not become ineligible to complete such course of education or training solely because the member to whom the spouse is married is promoted to a higher grade*.
Subsection (b) does not include—
a person who is married to, but legally separated from, a member of the armed forces under court order or statute of any State or territorial possession of the United States; and
a spouse of a member of the armed forces who is also a member of the armed forces.
In carrying out the programs authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide assistance to the spouse of a member of the armed forces described in subsection (b) with obtaining certification—
as a doula or International Board Certified Lactation Consultant; and
provided by an organization that receives reimbursement under the extramedical maternal health providers demonstration project required by section 746 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283; 10 U.S.C. 1073 note).
In this section, the term “portable career” includes an occupation identified by the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, as requiring education and training that results in a credential that is recognized nationwide by industry or specific businesses.
The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations to govern the availability and use of assistance under this section. The Secretary shall ensure that programs established under this section do not result in inequitable treatment for spouses of members of the armed forces who are also members, since they are excluded from participation in the programs under subsection (c)(2).
Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 110–417, [div. A], title V, § 582(a), Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4473; amended Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title V, § 576, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1406; Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title VI, § 634, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 297.)
- 2008Enacted · Pub. L. 110-417 · 122 Stat. 4473
- 2019Amended · Pub. L. 116-92 · 133 Stat. 1406
- 2023Amended · Pub. L. 118-31 · 137 Stat. 297
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 110-417 on 2008-10-14.
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