§2002 National criteria for home-living situations

Summary

The Secretary must update national rules for school dormitories after talking with the Secretary of Education, Indian tribes and groups, and Bureau-funded schools. The rules must cover things like heating, lighting, cooling, adult-to-child ratios, need for counselors (including off-reservation issues), therapy programs, space, and privacy. Bureau-run schools must follow the rules, and contract or grant schools must meet them as minimums. Any future changes must follow the procedures in section 2017. The Secretary must put the new rules into effect as soon as they are finished. The Secretary must also send and publish a detailed plan to the appropriate committees of Congress, the tribes, and the affected schools in the Federal Register. The plan must show each school’s current and future needs, its status compared to the rules, cost estimates for each standard for each school, total cost to fix all schools, and a timeline for each school. A tribal governing body or a local school board chosen by the tribe can waive all or part of the rules if they are not right for the tribe’s students. Within 60 days of granting a waiver, that body must give the Director an alternative-standards proposal. The Director must accept the alternatives unless the Director rejects them for good cause in writing to the tribes or local school board. No school that was operating on or before July 1, 1999 may be closed, transferred to another authority, merged with another school, or have its program sharply cut just because it did not meet these rules.