§7441 — Title 20 Education | U.S. Code

§7441 Improvement of educational opportunities for Indian children and youth

Title 20 › Chapter CHAPTER 70— - STRENGTHENING AND IMPROVEMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER VI— - INDIAN, NATIVE HAWAIIAN, AND ALASKA NATIVE EDUCATION › Part Part A— - Indian Education › Subpart subpart 2— - special programs and projects to improve educational opportunities for indian children › § 7441

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Provides grants to create, test, and show what works to improve education for Indian children and youth. The Secretary must coordinate these grants with other programs in this law and with other federal programs that help Indian children. Eligible groups that can apply include state and local school agencies, Indian tribes and organizations, federally supported Indian schools, Tribal Colleges, or consortia of these. Grants can pay for many types of activities, such as remedial classes, bilingual and bicultural programs, health and nutrition services, dropout-prevention and graduation programs, counseling and testing, early childhood and preschool readiness, college and business partnership programs, family literacy, cultural supports with traditional leaders, teacher and aide training, and other related services. Grants may be given for up to 5 years. An award can be up to 3 years at first and renewed for up to 2 more years if good progress is made. Priority is given to plans that combine two or more activities over more than one year. The Secretary may also fund spreading proven programs if they have been reviewed, shown to work, and can be copied. Applications must show how parents, families, and tribes were and will be involved, agree to take part in any national evaluation if asked, show the program is evidence‑based when needed, explain how the work will continue after the grant, and include other required information. No more than 5 percent of a grantee’s yearly funds may be used for administration.

Title 20, §7441

Education — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)It is the purpose of this section to support projects to develop, test, and demonstrate the effectiveness of services and programs to improve educational opportunities and achievement of Indian children and youth.

(2)The Secretary shall take the necessary actions to achieve the coordination of activities assisted under this subpart with—

(A)other programs funded under this chapter; and

(B)other Federal programs operated for the benefit of Indian children and youth.

(b)In this section, the term “eligible entity” means a State educational agency, local educational agency, Indian tribe, Indian organization, federally supported elementary school or secondary school for Indian students, a Tribal College or University (as defined in section 1059c(b) of this title), or a consortium of such entities.

(c)The Secretary shall award grants to eligible entities to enable such entities to carry out activities that meet the purpose of this section, including—

(1)innovative programs related to the educational needs of educationally disadvantaged Indian children and youth;

(2)educational services that are not available to such children and youth in sufficient quantity or quality, including remedial instruction, to raise the achievement of Indian children in one or more of the subjects of English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, art, history, and geography;

(3)bilingual and bicultural programs and projects;

(4)special health and nutrition services, and other related activities, that address the special health, social, and psychological problems of Indian children and youth;

(5)special compensatory and other programs and projects designed to assist and encourage Indian children and youth to enter, remain in, or reenter school, and to increase the rate of high school graduation for Indian children and youth;

(6)comprehensive guidance, counseling, and testing services;

(7)early childhood education programs that are effective in preparing young children to make sufficient academic growth by the end of grade 3, including kindergarten and pre-kindergarten programs, family-based preschool programs that emphasize school readiness, screening and referral, and the provision of services to Indian children and youth with disabilities;

(8)partnership projects between local educational agencies and institutions of higher education that allow secondary school students to enroll in courses at the postsecondary level to aid such students in the transition from secondary to postsecondary education;

(9)partnership projects between schools and local businesses for career preparation programs designed to provide Indian youth with the knowledge and skills such youth need to make an effective transition from school to a high-skill career;

(10)programs designed to encourage and assist Indian students to work toward, and gain entrance into, institutions of higher education;

(11)family literacy services;

(12)activities that recognize and support the unique cultural and educational needs of Indian children and youth, and incorporate traditional leaders;

(13)high-quality professional development of teaching professionals and paraprofessionals; or

(14)other services that meet the purpose described in this section.

(d)(1)(A)The Secretary may make multiyear grants under subsection (c) for the planning, development, pilot operation, or demonstration of any activity described in subsection (c) for a period not to exceed 5 years.

(B)In making multiyear grants described in this paragraph, the Secretary shall give priority to entities submitting applications that present a plan for combining two or more of the activities described in subsection (c) over a period of more than 1 year.

(C)The Secretary shall award grants for an initial period of not more than 3 years and may renew such grants for not more than an additional 2 years if the Secretary determines that the eligible entity has made substantial progress in carrying out the activities assisted under the grant in accordance with the application submitted under paragraph (3) and any subsequent modifications to such application.

(2)(A)In addition to awarding the multiyear grants described in paragraph (1), the Secretary may award grants under subsection (c) to eligible entities for the dissemination of exemplary materials or programs assisted under this section.

(B)The Secretary may award a dissemination grant described in this paragraph if, prior to awarding the grant, the Secretary determines that the material or program to be disseminated—

(i)has been adequately reviewed;

(ii)has demonstrated educational merit; and

(iii)can be replicated.

(3)(A)Any eligible entity that desires to receive a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may reasonably require.

(B)Each application submitted to the Secretary under subparagraph (A), other than an application for a dissemination grant under paragraph (2), shall contain—

(i)a description of how parents and family of Indian children and representatives of Indian tribes have been, and will be, involved in developing and implementing the activities for which assistance is sought;

(ii)assurances that the applicant will participate, at the request of the Secretary, in any national evaluation of activities assisted under this section;

(iii)information demonstrating that the proposed program is an evidence-based program, where applicable, which may include a program that has been modified to be culturally appropriate for students who will be served;

(iv)a description of how the applicant will incorporate the proposed activities into the ongoing school program involved once the grant period is over; and

(v)such other assurances and information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

(e)Not more than 5 percent of the funds provided to a grantee under this subpart for any fiscal year may be used for administrative purposes.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 6121 of Pub. L. 89–10 was renumbered section 5101 and is classified to section 7305 of this title.

Amendments

2015—Pub. L. 114–95, § 6002(k)(1), substituted “Improvement of educational opportunities for Indian children and youth” for “Improvement of educational opportunities for Indian children” in section catchline. Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 114–95, § 6002(k)(2)(A), inserted “and youth” after “Indian children”. Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 114–95, § 6002(k)(2)(B), substituted “Indian children and youth” for “American Indian and Alaska Native children”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 114–95, § 6002(k)(3), substituted “a Tribal College or University (as defined in section 1059c(b) of this title)” for “Indian institution (including an Indian institution of higher education)”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 114–95, § 6002(k)(4), added subsec. (c) and struck out former subsec. (c) which related to grants authorized, consisting of pars. (1) and (2). Subsec. (d)(1)(C). Pub. L. 114–95, § 6002(k)(5)(A), substituted “award grants for an initial period of not more than 3 years and may renew such grants for not more than an additional 2 years if the Secretary determines” for “make a grant payment for a grant described in this paragraph to an eligible entity after the initial year of the multiyear grant only if the Secretary determines”. Subsec. (d)(3)(B)(i). Pub. L. 114–95, § 6002(k)(5)(B)(i), substituted “parents and family of Indian children” for “parents of Indian children”. Subsec. (d)(3)(B)(iii). Pub. L. 114–95, § 6002(k)(5)(B)(ii), substituted “information demonstrating that the proposed program is an evidence-based program” for “information demonstrating that the proposed program for the activities is a scientifically based research program”.

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.