DOD Education Activity

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), a sub-agency of the Department of Defense, operates the federal government's school system, managing pre-kindergarten through grade-12 educational programs serving more than 72,000 students across approximately 165 brick-and-mortar schools in seven U.S. states, eleven foreign countries, Guam, and Puerto Rico. DoDEA procures instructional resources, facility maintenance and operations, student transportation, curriculum support services, and related educational infrastructure across eight regional districts.

DoDEA has awarded 38,741 federal contracts since 1994, with combined potential value of $26.8 billion and $14.55 billion in obligated dollars. Recent activity shows 990 awards in 2022, 960 in 2023, 967 in 2024, 813 in 2025, and 425 year-to-date in 2026. The most recent contract award closed on September 28, 2026. Competitive concentration among prime contractors is highly fragmented; the top five primes by award count—SKE Technical Services GMBH (318 awards, $77.9 million combined potential value), Mackin Book Company (249 awards, $14.9 million), American Engineering Corporation (214 awards, $59.2 million), Jumbo Tours Co., Ltd. (197 awards, $4.1 million), and School Specialty, LLC (144 awards, $9.2 million)—account for only 26 percent of recent awards. Set-asides remain minimal: 92 percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, with 6 percent designated as total small business and less than 1 percent split across 8(a) sole source, HUBZone, competitive 8(a), and other socioeconomic categories.

DoDEA has also made 1,181 federal grant awards since 2011, obligating $740.9 million in federal dollars (with combined federal and non-federal total dollars of $870.2 million). Recent grant cadence shows 45 awards in 2022, 54 in 2023, 55 in 2024, 8 in 2025, and 14 year-to-date in 2026, with the most recent grant award closing on July 30, 2026. Grant recipients are highly fragmented; the top five by award count and federal dollars—Hawaii State Department of Education (9 awards, $19.3 million), Knob Noster School District R-8 (4 awards, $25.2 million), Cache School District 1 (4 awards, $11.8 million), International Leadership of Texas, Inc. (4 awards, $7.3 million), and Mascoutah Community Unit School District (4 awards, $10.8 million)—account for only 14 percent of recent awards and 12 percent of federal dollars. Grants are predominantly formula grants (68 percent), with 29 percent as project grants and 3 percent as block grants.

Recent contract opportunities span multiple categories: Solicitation HE125427Q0004 (Esports Program Support Services, Pacific Region, due October 23, 2026) seeks comprehensive consulting and event execution support for twelve high schools; Pre-Solicitation HE125427RELANDSTUHL (Daily Commute Student Transportation Services, Landstuhl Germany, due October 30, 2026) is conducting market research for full transportation services with period of performance beginning August 1, 2027; Pre-Solicitation HE1254-27-RE-WESTPOINT (Daily Commute and SPED Student Transportation Services, West Point New York, due October 28, 2026) is reserved for total small business and seeks full transportation services also beginning August 1, 2027; and Pre-Solicitation HE125427RFI0001 (K-5 Literacy Core, Strategic and Assessment Resources, due October 16, 2026) seeks commercial off-the-shelf print and digital instructional resources with anticipated performance running April 5, 2027 through April 4, 2033. Additional recent solicitations include warehouse and logistics support in Okinawa, Japan (closed September 19, 2026), playground inspection and maintenance in Europe South (due October 30, 2026), facility surveys and assessments across Pacific Region schools (Competitive 8(a), due September 16, 2026), and multiple market-research RFIs for facility maintenance contracts in Italy and Japan.