October 17, 2024

Warren's JROTC Reforms in Action: Defense Department Puts Key Protections in Place to Protect Students

Key reforms Sen. Warren secured in FY 2024 NDAA to protect JROTC students from sexual misconduct by instructors are now being implemented by DoD

“I fought hard to get these provisions into the NDAA because it’s critical that we protect JROTC students from harm.”

Boston, MA — In its response to a July letter led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, the Department of Defense (DoD) confirmed that it is implementing key reforms that Senator Warren secured in the fiscal year (FY) FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to protect Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) students from sexual misconduct by instructors and forced enrollment. The reforms include a standardized memorandum of agreement (MOA) to hold schools and instructors accountable, a student code of conduct and parent/guardian consent form to provide resources and support for students and families, and prohibitions on forced enrollment, requirements for schools to quickly report allegations of instructor misconduct to DoD.

“It’s unthinkable that students who have joined JROTC to develop leadership skills and learn about military service have been abused by their instructors — adults they’re supposed to be able to trust,” said Senator Warren. “I fought hard to get these provisions into the NDAA because it’s critical that we protect JROTC students from harm. I'm glad to see the Department of Defense taking important steps to implement these reforms, and I’ll keep working to make sure they’re put into action as effectively as possible.”

In July, Senator Warren led Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, in urging the Department of Defense to fully implement FY 2024 NDAA provisions from the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) Safety Act of 2023. The letter followed a Warren-led Senate investigation revealing that between 2012 and 2022, DoD had received 114 allegations of violence, including sexual abuse and sexual harassment of JROTC students by instructors. The investigation was conducted after a 2022 New York Times report that exposed an alarming pattern of sexual assault and harassment in the program. In many cases, reports of sexual harassment or assault went nowhere and instructors who were reported would escape without consequence.

Key provisions being implemented as a direct result of Senator Warren’s provisions from the JROTC Safety Act in the FY 2024 NDAA and her ongoing advocacy include:

Holding schools and instructors accountable: DoD has standardized a MOA to use with institutions with JROTC programs. The addendums specific to each military service are being finalized and expect to be fully used this academic year. DoD developed the JROTC Instructor Prohibited Activities Acknowledgement form, which JROTC Instructors must review and acknowledge annually. DoD is also requiring a 1:30 ratio of oversight personnel to JROTC units for annual in-person inspections.
Supporting students and families: DoD has established a JROTC student code of conduct and parent/guardian consent form to provide resources for students to report instructor misconduct. Parents, guardians and students will need to acknowledge it annually, and it has been “translated into Spanish to minimize language barriers.” In addition to identifying the school’s Title IX coordinator, it provides them military service points of contact so that parents and guardians and students can reach out to DoD directly with concerns about instructor conduct.
Prohibiting forced enrollment: Under the new JROTC student code of conduct and parent/guardian consent form, the student and their parent or guardian must explicitly acknowledge that the program is voluntary. The new standardized MOAs also require the school district or local education activity to also acknowledge that JROTC is a voluntary program.
Timely reporting requirements for schools and DoD: Under the new MOA, schools must “report to the Military Service point of contact, within 1 business day, any disciplinary or administrative action levied upon a JROTC instructor…the initiation of any investigation into alleged JROTC instructor misconduct…and any changes in the employment status of a JROTC instructor.” DoD has also created procedures to “ensure that such reports are quickly communicated” to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and has implemented a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Department of Education (ED) to share information about possible Title IX violations.
Improving communication between DoD and ED: DoD and ED have established an MOU to formalize and improve information sharing on possible Title IX violations.
New data on JROTC Title IX violations in academic year 2022-2023: In response to a reporting requirement from Congress, DoD reported 21 alleged Title IX violations in the 2022-2023 academic year, including for sexual misconduct, harassment, and discrimination. The report also provides a list of actions DoD took during the 2022-2023 academic year to mitigate sexual misconduct and harassment in JROTC.

As Chair of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, Senator Warren has led efforts to hold the Department of Defense and the Department of Education accountable for their management of the JROTC program:

In May 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), along with Representatives Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Stephen F. Lynch (D-Mass.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), and Chrissy M. Houlahan (D-Pa.), applauded the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for launching a review of the JROTC program following a letter from the lawmakers requesting such a review.
In March 2023, chairing her first hearing of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, Senator Warren highlighted the importance of addressing existing failures in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC).
In February 2023, Senators Warren, Hirono, Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), sent a letter to the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Education (ED) amid reports of students being forced to join the JROTC program.
In September 2022, during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Warrenquestioned top DoD personnel officials on disturbing reports of widespread patterns of sexual misconduct by instructors in the JROTC program, where they admitted DoD’s lack of adequate oversight to prevent sexual misconduct by instructors and ensure the safety of students.
In September 2022, Senator Warren, along with Senators Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Hirono (D-Hawaii), opened an investigation into the JROTC program, following reports of widespread patterns of sexual misconduct by instructors in the program.

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