The Foreign Service Journal, June 2017

78 JUNE 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT mined by an analysis of school costs, such as tuition and local transportation. The post submits these costs through regular surveys to update the allowance as prices go up or down. If OS determines that no school at post is adequate, we use $150 as a dummy/ placeholder rate because the default allowance in this situation is “away from post.” FLO: How is the “away from post” education allowance determined? ALLOWANCES: When a school at post is deemed adequate, the “away from post” rate is identical to the “at post” rate. However, when no school at post is adequate, Allowances establishes a higher “away from post” rate to defray the cost of attending a school (often, but not always, a boarding school) away from post. The rate is based on tuition, room and board, and airfare three times a year to and from school. FLO: Many countries have more than one school option for parents. Is the edu- cation allowance limited to enrollment in the desig- nated base school? ALLOWANCES: No. An employee has freedom of choice in school selection with reimbursement up to the designated “at post” and “away from post” rates. Such flexibility in choice of schools is important to remember, so that when decision-making time comes, you can move forward with the confidence that you can seek reimbursement even if the school is not the base school used by the U.S. mission community. While school choice is often avail- able, the cost of alternate choices is only An employee has freedom of choice in school selection with reimbursement up to the designated “at post” and “away from post” rates. Continued on page 82 Continued from page 74