On November 12, 2025, President Trump signed a continuing resolution funding the Department of War through January 30, 2026. Â DoDEA will resume normal, fully funded operations in support of its global education mission.Â
November 13, 2025: UPDATED INFORMATION regarding the FY26 lapse in appropriations, including FAQs regarding unemployment compensation.Â
The current appropriations provided by Congress expired September 30, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Without enactment of an appropriations bill or a continuing resolution, DoDEA was required to execute contingency plans for a lapse in appropriations (commonly referred to as a "shutdown") the morning of Wednesday, October 1, 2025, Eastern Daylight Time.Â
Our contingency plan is based on the Department of War (DoW) Continuation of Essential Operations guidance (published October 2025).
During a shutdown, only excepted employees are permitted to work. All other employees are required by law to be furloughed until a new appropriations bill or continuing resolution is in place. In the event of a shutdown, DoDEA will follow DoW guidance:
- Schools - Will remain in session and continue to follow the published instructional calendar. All school-level employees are excepted and will continue their regular schedules and operations. DoDEA has received updated direction allowing extracurricular activities, including athletics and afterschool clubs, to be considered excepted activities during the current lapse in appropriations.Â
- District/Community Superintendent Offices – All district and community superintendent offices will continue to operate as usual in direct support of the schools. This includes FIST employees assigned to the district and/or schools.
- Region Offices - At minimal staffing. Excepted employees will be notified by their supervisor.
- Headquarters - At minimal staffing. Excepted employees will be notified by their supervisor.
Absent enactment of an appropriations bill or continuing resolution, employees are required to report as directed (in-person or virtually) at their normal reporting time on Wednesday, October 1, 2025. Supervisors will brief employees and issue furlough notices to all non-excepted employees. Excepted employees will begin the implementation of the contingency plan for DoDEA.
The duration of any furlough is unknown at this time. Should a furlough become a reality, employees have a responsibility to keep abreast of the latest news regarding the budgetary status of the United States. When a continuing resolution or an appropriation for the DoD has been approved, employees are generally expected to report to work in-person (absent an approved reasonable accommodation) on their next duty day.
Only excepted employees can work during periods of lapsed appropriations. Furloughed employees may not perform official business using personal or government issued mobile or non-mobile communication devices (e.g. cell phones, laptops, computers, mobile or iPhone) during the furlough period. During a government shutdown, furloughed employees are not permitted to work as unpaid volunteers of the government.
Federal agencies, including DoDEA, do not have the authority to pay employees, whether excepted or furloughed during a lapse of appropriations. This includes allowances such as Living Quarters Allowance (LQA) and Post Allowance (PA). In accordance with the 2019 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, all federal employees will receive backpay for the shutdown furlough period once funding is approved, to include LQA and PA. Â
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has prepared human resources guidance for agencies and employees on shutdown furloughs (also called emergency furloughs).Â
All leave during a shutdown furlough period is cancelled because the requirement to furlough supersedes. Â This includes annual, sick, any purpose, educator, paid parental, and/or any other type of paid leave. Â The cancellation of leave applies to all employees whether they are furloughed or are excepted from the furlough. Â An excepted employee who is absent from duty during the shutdown must be furloughed during such an absence.Â
The DoD Employee Assistance Program and its resources will continue to be available at (866) 580-9046
Credit Unions and Banks
Many of the credit unions and banks serving DoD employees and families are offering help for furloughed employees. Check with your financial institution for details. Be sure to have a copy of your furlough letter handy when visiting your bank.
Browse Shutdown Furlough FAQs provided by the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA).
While the preferred method of notification is in-person (or virtually if an employee has an approved reasonable accommodation to telework/work remotely), there are alternative means of notification, especially if employees are not in the local commuting area. If an employee is not at their duty station to receive furlough notification, then other forms of communication - telephone, personal email with receipt notification, or registered mail – will be pursued. However, a written notice to furlough will still be provided to the employee as soon as possible after the furlough begins. Since some employees have scheduled travel during this time of year, employees should make arrangements for alternate means of communication with management if a furlough does occur. It is important to note that employees who are away from the area will not be expected to return to their work site just to receive a furlough notice. Instead, employees who can prepare for shutdown without coming into the office should coordinate with their supervisors for alternative notification.
DoDEA activities at our schools and district/community superintendent offices are considered as excepted activities and will continue to operate as usual for the duration of a government shutdown. All school-level and district-level employees, including FIST employees located at district offices are excepted and are required to report for work on all scheduled duty days in the event of a shutdown. Schools, district superintendent offices, and community superintendent offices will remain open and operate normally. However, DoDEA sporting events and extracurricular activities, including sports practices, are not excepted and cannot continue unless the event or activity is fully funded with non-appropriated funds.
Most Region and Headquarters personnel are not excepted and are subject to the furlough. Limited key personnel at these locations have been identified as excepted to provide for essential operations in support of educational activities. Excepted employees will continue to work during the furlough. Supervisors will notify employees who fall into the excepted category. In the absence of appropriations, all TDY and training for non-excepted activities is cancelled. In the event of a lapse in appropriations, employees who are furloughed should make arrangements to return to their home stations as part of the orderly shutdown of operations.
All paid time off during a shutdown furlough period must be cancelled because the requirement to furlough supersedes leave and other paid time-off rights. This applies to all employees whether they are furloughed or are excepted from the furlough. An excepted employee who is absent from duty during the shutdown must be furloughed during such an absence.
Federal agencies, including DoDEA, do not have the authority to pay employees, whether excepted or not designated as excepted during a lapse of appropriations. This includes allowances such as Living Quarters Allowance (LQA) and Post Allowance (PA). All employees entitled to receive payment of LQA and PA, whether furloughed or not, will receive them once funding is approved. Excepted employees will be paid salary for hours worked during the shutdown furlough period once funding is approved.
After the lapse in appropriations has ended, employees who were furloughed as the result of the shutdown will receive retroactive pay for those furlough periods. Per 5 U.S.C. § 1341(c)(2), retroactive pay will be provided on the earliest date possible after the lapse ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates.
For employees who worked in the pay period prior to a lapse in appropriations (meaning anyone who worked up to and including September 30, 2025), a paycheck for the time worked will be processed. Although the paychecks will be processed during the furlough, the minimum number of payroll staff necessary to process the timecards will be excepted from the furlough, for the minimum required time to process all paychecks.
Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB), Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP), and Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Plan (FEDVIP) coverage continues for all enrolled employees even if the agency or employee does not make timely premium payments due to the lapse in appropriations. More information regarding repayment of premiums and voluntary changes to coverage is available here beginning on page 29.
The duration of any potential shutdown is unknown at this time. Should it occur, employees have a responsibility to stay abreast of the latest news regarding the budgetary status of the United States.
Employees at district and community superintendent offices should report as usual for work October 1, 2025. District and community superintendent offices will remain open and operate on a regular schedule. Employees who are scheduled to work but are not able to report on October 1, 2025, will be given furlough letters to cover the days they are unable to work.
Headquarters and Region employees should report for work at their normal times on October 1, 2025, to receive their furlough notice and conduct an orderly shutdown of operations. Employees are required to set out-of-office messages on their phone and email, secure PII information, sign the furlough notice and depart. This should take no more than 4 hours. Employees approved to receive the notification without reporting to the office must also take these measures remotely or coordinate with in-office personnel to set the appropriate out-of-office notifications. Once all such actions are completed, non-excepted employees are not authorized to conduct any additional government business during the furlough. This includes the use of government computers, smart phones, or other electronic media to conduct official government business. Those who take public transportation or carpool should make appropriate arrangements to promptly depart.
Foreign National (FN) employees at schools or district offices are not subject to furlough. FN employees at the Region level are not subject to furlough if paid fully from host country funds. If the Department reimburses the host country for FN employees located at the Region level, then those FN employees are subject to furlough unless they are specifically designated by name on the excepted employee list.
Employees are required to monitor the media and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) website. Information on the DoDEA website will also be updated. It is an employee’s responsibility to know when to return to the office. When a continuing resolution or an appropriation has been enacted, employees are expected to report to work or request leave in accordance with leave procedures. Generally, employees will be expected to report to work on their next regular duty day.
- Monitor updates to this page.
- The Office of Personnel Management is the best source for information for employees including frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the impact of a furlough. The OPM website for shutdown and furlough information can be found here.Â
- Additional guidance may be found on the Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service’s website. Â
- Information will also be posted on our DoDEA Facebook Page.Â
- Questions? Email gov.shutdown@dodea.eduÂ
This page will be updated with additional information on the furlough to assist all employees. Information will also be posted on the DoDEA Facebook page.
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The content on this page was last updated on November 13, 2025.
