§6331 — Title 20 Education | U.S. Code

§6331 Grants for the outlying areas and the Secretary of the Interior

Title 20 › Chapter CHAPTER 70— - STRENGTHENING AND IMPROVEMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - IMPROVING THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE DISADVANTAGED › Part Part A— - Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies › Subpart subpart 2— - allocations › § 6331

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Education must set aside 0.4 percent of the money for State payments to help the outlying areas, and 0.7 percent to help the Secretary of the Interior, unless a special rule in subsection (e) applies. From the 0.4 percent, the first $1,000,000 must go to the Republic of Palau under terms the Secretary sets (and a law allowing grant consolidation does not apply). The rest is split among the U.S. outlying areas (the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands) based on how many children ages 5 to 17 live in families below the poverty line, using the latest Commerce data. Each outlying area gets at least a set share of its prior year’s amount (95%, 90%, or 85%) depending on whether its poor-child share is at least 30%, between 15% and 30%, or below 15%. If funds are too small, amounts are cut proportionally. Palau’s $1,000,000 and other outlying-area grants may only be used for programs in this part of the law (like teacher training, curriculum, materials, school improvement) and for direct services to help students meet State academic standards. The 0.7 percent for the Secretary of the Interior must be used to meet special education needs of Indian children on reservations served by Interior schools and of out‑of‑State Indian children in local schools that have special contracts with the Interior. The Interior will pay local school districts for those out‑of‑State Indian children on terms it chooses, but payment per child cannot be more than the larger of 40% of the State’s average per‑pupil spending or 48% of the United States average per‑pupil spending. If setting aside these percentages would reduce total money to all States below what they got in fiscal year 2016, then the Secretary must provide outlying-area and Interior assistance under the rules that were in effect the day before December 10, 2015.

Title 20, §6331

Education — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Subject to subsection (e), from the amount appropriated for payments to States for any fiscal year under section 6302(a) of this title, the Secretary shall—

(1)reserve 0.4 percent to provide assistance to the outlying areas in accordance with subsection (b); and

(2)reserve 0.7 percent to provide assistance to the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with subsection (d).

(b)(1)From the amount made available for any fiscal year under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall—

(A)first reserve $1,000,000 for the Republic of Palau, subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary may establish, except that Public Law 95–134, permitting the consolidation of grants, shall not apply; and

(B)use the remaining funds to award grants to the outlying areas in accordance with paragraphs (2) through (5).

(2)The Secretary shall allocate the amount available under paragraph (1)(B) to the outlying areas in proportion to their relative numbers of children, aged 5 to 17, inclusive, from families below the poverty level, on the basis of the most recent satisfactory data available from the Department of Commerce.

(3)For each fiscal year, the amount made available to each outlying area under this subsection shall be—

(A)not less than 95 percent of the amount made available for the preceding fiscal year if the number of children counted under paragraph (2) is not less than 30 percent of the total number of children aged 5 to 17 years, inclusive, in the outlying area;

(B)not less than 90 percent of the amount made available for the preceding fiscal year if the percentage described in subparagraph (A) is between 15 percent and 30 percent; and

(C)not less than 85 percent of the amount made available for the preceding fiscal year if the percentage described in subparagraph (A) is below 15 percent.

(4)If the amount made available under paragraph (1)(B) for any fiscal year is insufficient to pay the full amounts that the outlying areas are eligible to receive under paragraphs (2) and (3) for that fiscal year, the Secretary shall ratably reduce those amounts.

(5)Grant funds awarded under paragraph (1)(A) may be used only—

(A)for programs described in this chapter, including teacher training, curriculum development, instructional materials, or general school improvement and reform; and

(B)to provide direct educational services that assist all students with meeting the challenging State academic standards.

(c)For the purpose of this section, the term “outlying area” means the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

(d)(1)The amount allotted for payments to the Secretary of the Interior under subsection (a)(2) for any fiscal year shall be used, in accordance with such criteria as the Secretary may establish, to meet the unique educational needs of—

(A)Indian children on reservations served by elementary schools and secondary schools for Indian children operated or supported by the Department of the Interior; and

(B)out-of-State Indian children in elementary schools and secondary schools in local educational agencies under special contracts with the Department of the Interior.

(2)From the amount allotted for payments to the Secretary of the Interior under subsection (a)(2), the Secretary of the Interior shall make payments to local educational agencies, on such terms as the Secretary determines will best carry out the purposes of this part, with respect to out-of-State Indian children described in paragraph (1). The amount of such payment may not exceed, for each such child, the greater of—

(A)40 percent of the average per-pupil expenditure in the State in which the agency is located; or

(B)48 percent of such expenditure in the United States.

(e)If, by reason of the application of subsection (a) for any fiscal year, the total amount available for allocation to all States under this part would be less than the amount allocated to all States for fiscal year 2016 under this part, the Secretary shall provide assistance to the outlying areas and the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with this section, as in effect on the day before December 10, 2015.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Public Law 95–134, referred to in subsec. (b)(1)(A), is Pub. L. 95–134, Oct. 15, 1977, 91 Stat. 1159. Provisions relating to consolidation of grants are contained in section 501 of Pub. L. 95–134 which is classified to section 1469a of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 6331, Pub. L. 89–10, title I, § 1121, as added Pub. L. 103–382, title I, § 101, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3561, related to grants for outlying areas and the Secretary of the Interior, prior to the general amendment of this subchapter by Pub. L. 107–110.

Amendments

2024—Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 118–42 added subpar. (A) and struck out former subpar. (A) which read as follows: “first reserve $1,000,000 for the Republic of Palau, until Palau enters into an agreement for extension of United States educational assistance under the Compact of Free Association, and subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary may establish, except that Public Law 95–134, permitting the consolidation of grants, shall not apply; and”. 2015—Pub. L. 114–95 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section consisted of subsecs. (a) to (d) relating to reservation of one percent of funds for assistance to outlying areas and the Secretary of the Interior, grants to outlying areas, definitions, and allotment to the Secretary of the Interior to meet special educational needs of Indian children.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2015 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 114–95 effective Dec. 10, 2015, except with respect to certain noncompetitive programs and competitive programs, see section 5 of Pub. L. 114–95, set out as a note under section 6301 of this title.