Title 25 › CHAPTER 22 — BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS PROGRAMS › § 2001
Requires all schools that get Bureau of Indian Affairs money to be accredited or officially working toward accreditation within 24 months after January 8, 2002, if funding is available. Tribes or authorized local school boards choose which type of accreditation to seek: a tribal accreditor approved by the tribe and recognized by a state or regional agency, a regional agency, or the State standards where the school is located (or one State chosen by the tribe if the reservation is in more than one State). Within 12 months after January 8, 2002, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Education must study whether a tribal accreditation agency should be created. The Secretary must offer technical and financial help, if schools ask and money is provided, and may give help directly or through education groups. Schools trying to get accredited must follow the Bureau standards that were in effect the day before January 8, 2002, until they become accredited, except where an accrediting agency’s standards conflict. Each year, within 90 days after the school year ends, the Secretary must report which Bureau-funded schools are not accredited or not candidates, explain why, and list needed funds to fix resource problems. Before a school is included in that report, it must have exhausted its accreditor’s remedies and get a chance to review and respond to the data; the Secretary must publish a final decision within 30 days of first deciding to include the school. A school named in the report has 120 days to make a 3-year improvement plan with parents, staff, and others. The plan must target the problems, show how funds will be used, set yearly goals toward accreditation, tell how parents will be told in writing about the school’s status, and show what help the Secretary and school board will give. The Secretary will review the plan within 45 days and use peer review help. If a school still is not accredited after three full years, the Secretary may take corrective steps, continue assistance, offer students transfers to accredited public or Bureau schools (with transportation if funds allow), work with the tribe on fixes, set aside funds for accreditation, or, after certain notices and timelines, contract with an outside operator or appoint a receiver until the school meets accreditation. Schools may get waivers if failure is due to things beyond their control, like disasters or severe funding loss. The law also blocks closing or moving Bureau-funded schools without tribal approval (except for immediate safety hazards), sets rules and notice periods for any proposed closure, requires fiscal reporting standards for contract and grant schools, allows schools to use federal and other education funds for schoolwide improvements, and orders the Comptroller General to study whether Bureau funding and funding formulas are adequate and to share the results with tribes and school boards.
Full Legal Text
Indians, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
25 U.S.C. § 2001
Title 25, Indians
Last Updated
Sep 23, 2026
Release point: 119-110