Update of guidance and evaluation of Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps instructor pay scale

(a) Update of guidance Not later than January 1, 2027, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretaries concerned shall update Department of Defense issuances governing the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) program, including the applicable Department of Defense Instruction, to— (1) reflect current statutory requirements relating to the minimum number of Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps units, including any increases enacted in recent National Defense Authorization Acts, and the plan of the Secretary to achieve and sustain such minimums; (2) an evaluation plan to assess the effects of the JROTC Standardized Instructor Pay Scale, or any successor pay system, on recruitment and retention of JROTC instructors, including the implementation and utilization of the temporary authority to provide bonuses to such instructors under section 546 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (Public Law 119–60; 10 U.S.C. 2031 note); and (3) standardized metrics for measuring JROTC instructor recruiting outcomes and retention rates across the military services. (b) Required metrics The evaluation plan required under subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum, metrics relating to— (1) instructor vacancy rates and time-to-hire; (2) retention rates and length of service; (3) geographic variation in recruiting and retention outcomes, including high-cost-of-living areas, rural, urban, and geographically isolated locations; (4) comparisons between outcomes under the legacy pay system and the JSIPS; (5) the identification of recruiting efforts used to attract instructor applicants, including data on how applicants learned about available instructor positions; (6) the number of applicants who begin, complete, or withdraw from the instructor hiring process, including the interview and background investigation stages; (7) the number of applicants who accept or decline instructor position offers, including to the extent practicable, information on the reasons offers were declined; (8) the number, amount, and distribution of bonuses provided to JROTC instructors under section 546 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (Public Law 119–60; 10 U.S.C. 2031 note), disaggregated by military department, geographic location, and instructor type, as well as any identified barriers to use of the authority; and (9) any other matters the Secretary determines appropriate. (c) Report to Congress Not later than one year after the issuance of the updated guidance under subsection (a), and annually thereafter for two years, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report that includes— (1) a description of the updated guidance and implementation status; (2) baseline data and metrics collected using the metrics developed under subsection (a); (3) an assessment of the effects of the pay scale on recruitment and retention; (4) an assessment of the effectiveness of the bonus authority authorized by section 546 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (Public Law 119–60; 10 U.S.C. 2031 note) in improving recruitment and retention of JROTC instructors, including whether such authority should be modified, extended, or made permanent; and (5) any recommendations for legislative or administrative action.