Title 25 › Chapter CHAPTER 22— - BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS PROGRAMS › § 2001
Make sure students in Bureau-funded Indian schools get the same or better education as other U.S. students. Local school boards, tribes, and communities are encouraged to set clear education goals for their schools. Within 24 months after January 8, 2002, each Bureau-funded school must be a candidate for accreditation or already accredited under tribal, regional, or state standards chosen by the tribe or school board. Within 12 months after January 8, 2002, the Secretaries of the Interior and Education must report on whether a tribal accreditation agency should be created. The Secretary of the Interior must, when money is available and if asked, give schools technical and financial help to get accredited and can hire outside groups to help. Schools that are not yet accredited stay under the old Bureau standards until they become accredited, unless those conflict with the accreditor’s rules. Each year the Secretary must report to Congress which schools are not accredited, why, possible fixes, and funding needed to fix resource shortages. Before listing a school as unaccredited, the school must have a chance to use all accreditor appeals, see the data, and respond; the Secretary must make the final decision public within 30 days. If a school is listed as unaccredited, it has 120 days to make a three-year plan with fixes, annual goals, how funds will be used, and how parents will be told. The Secretary must set up a peer review and decide on the plan within 45 days. “Corrective action” means steps that directly fix the causes of nonaccreditation. The Secretary can waive some plan rules if problems are beyond the school’s control, like disasters or serious funding or facility loss. The Secretary will review progress each year, keep helping, and if a school still isn’t accredited after three years can take actions such as following accreditor recommendations, consulting the tribe, setting aside money for accreditation, or giving the tribe 60 days to choose to run the school as a contract or grant school. If the tribe declines, the Secretary may hire an outside operator or appoint a trustee until the school becomes accredited; once accredited, the tribe can choose to run the school. Students in schools needing corrective action must be offered the option to transfer to an accredited public or Bureau school, and transportation may be provided if funds allow. Employee rights stay the same. The Bureau must keep consistent financial reporting for contract and grant schools. The Secretary must keep using the standards that were in effect the day before January 8, 2002 (unless the accreditation rules in this summary apply). Schools must keep funds at the school and may use federal and other education funds for schoolwide improvement. The Comptroller General will study whether funding and funding formulas are adequate, and the Secretary must share the study results with tribes, local school boards, and their associations.
Full Legal Text
Indians — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
25 U.S.C. § 2001
Title 25 — Indians
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73