§7422 Grants to local educational agencies and tribes

Summary

The U.S. Department of Education can give grants from specific funds to local school districts and to Native American tribes, Native organizations, consortia of two or more of those groups, and Indian community-based organizations. A consortium must promise that each participating district will serve the eligible Indian children and follow the same rules that districts must follow. A school district can get a grant for a year if, in the previous year, at least 10 eligible Indian children were enrolled in its schools or those children made up at least 25 percent of the district’s students. A tribe can ask a district to make a cooperative agreement if the tribe represents at least 25 percent of the eligible Indian children and asks for the agreement. The 10-or-25-percent rule does not apply in Alaska, California, Oklahoma, or for districts on or near a reservation. If a district that could get a grant does not set up a required committee, a tribe, Indian organization, or consortium that represents more than one-half of the eligible Indian children in that district may apply instead. That group will be treated like a district for most rules, but some district-specific rules will not apply. Any applicant must promise to use the funds to serve all Indian students in the district. If no district, tribe, or organization applies, an Indian community-based organization serving that community can apply. An "Indian community-based organization" is an organization made up mainly of Indian parents, family and community members or tribal education officials; helps with the social, cultural, and educational growth of Indians there; meets the community’s cultural, language, and academic needs; and shows it can manage the grant.