Summary: In today's economic climate, when expatriate packages have diminished and sending agencies consider localization when moving families overseas, there is a great deal of confusion about whether education allowances reasonably can be subject to the same type of austerity.

When companies face the need to cut costs, education allowances are always an area of sensitivity. In today's economic climate, when expatriate packages have diminished and sending agencies consider localization when moving families overseas, there is a great deal of confusion about whether education allowances reasonably can be subject to the same type of austerity. These changes have the potential to affect education of 250,000 American school-age children living overseas in 2008-2009 academic year.

Historically it was not uncommon for families to forgo an assignment unless their children got into the "right” schools, with the assumption that companies would foot the bill for the entire education. Often allowances included everything from school tuition and fees to transportation, meals and uniforms. Assignees had no hesitation in asking for exceptions for music lessons and exotic field trips to other countries, and certainly not unheard of a company to acquiesce.

Some companies and institutions utilized the availability of good schools and the offer to pay full tuition as an incentive for the employee to sign on. For instance, the Overseas Schools Advisory Council, an advisory committee of business and educational leaders established by the U.S. Department of State, includes this sentiment in their mission; to "help make service abroad more attractive to American citizens with school-age children, both in the business community and in the U.S. Government.” The Senior Vice President of Wealth Management, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, chairs this particular committee.

When good schools are unavailable in an area, some large companies historically have established and run their own schools or formed partnerships with other corporations to set up national or international schools in key expatriate destinations.

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About the Author Elizabeth Perelstein is the President of School Choice International. Liz has been a teacher, a primary school administrator, a university administrator and a board of education trustee. She holds two Masters' degrees in Educational Administration and Public Policy from the University of Chicago. She lived in England for three years, where she founded School Choice International, which she introduced to the United States upon repatriation. Liz writes and speaks frequently on topics related to education and relocation. In 2006, she co-founded the first British, primary year's IB program school in New York. Liz serves as a board member for Families in Global Transit (FIGT). She received the Global HR News Communicator Award, at their May 2008 conference. Laila Plamondon is a Bangladeshi-American who grew up in Columbia, Cote D'Ivoire, Thailand and Bangladesh. She attended high school at the American School of Bangladesh and then graduated from Smith College with a degree in psychology. Her thesis was on Third Culture Kids. She recently finished a Fulbright scholarship in Toronto where she studied identity development of second generation immigrants. Contact: info@schoolchoiceintl.com

First Published: Jul 25, 2009