§2007 — Title 25 Indians | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary must make a rule that sets a formula to figure the minimum money each Bureau-funded school needs every year. The formula must look at how many eligible Indian students and total students the school has, and special cost things like isolation, extra staff, transportation, food and housing, building repairs, dorm costs, longer teacher service, therapy programs, and services for gifted students. The rule must also consider the cost to give school services equal to nearby public schools, whether the money will let the school meet accreditation standards, and any other relevant factors. After new standards are set under section 2002, the Secretary must update the formula to pay for them. By January 1, 2003, the Secretary had to review the formula and take steps to increase counseling and therapy at off-reservation dorm schools, and check that parents are notified and give consent when needed. Federal funds for local school operation must be split according to that formula. Starting in fiscal year 2003 and later, the formula must make these adjustments: count each eligible student in grades 7–8 as 1.2 students; treat any school with fewer than 50 eligible students as having 50 for the small-school factor; allow shorter than 9-month residential programs when the school board and supervisor decide; count each full-time gifted student as 2.0 students; and count each eligible student in a year-long Indian language class as 0.25 after the school board certifies the course and Congress sets aside funds for it. Local school boards may reserve either $8,000 or a smaller amount (either $15,000 or 1 percent of the allotment, whichever is less). New school board members must get 40 hours of training within one year. The Secretary must hold back 1 percent of yearly funds for emergencies; those funds can only be used for education services or emergency repairs at a schoolsite, stay available until spent, but the total saved from all years cannot exceed 1 percent of the current year’s funds, and any use must be reported to Congress in the annual budget. Supplemental pay money is handled under this rule. An “eligible Indian student” must meet three listed criteria (tribal membership/one-fourth blood, lives on/near a reservation or qualifies for off-reservation dorms, and is enrolled in a Bureau-funded school). Eligible students cannot be charged tuition. Non-eligible students may attend only under certain conditions and with tuition that does not reduce allotments and is not more than nearby public out-of-district rates. Contract or grant schools may accept non-eligible students and keep that tuition in addition to their allotment. A school board can choose to let up to 15 percent of its allotted funds carry over without a year limit. Tuition for certain out-of-State students at the Richfield dormitory must be paid from program funds at no more than the formula’s weighted amount for a student, and no extra administrative funds are provided.

Title 25, §2007

Indians — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Secretary shall establish, by regulation adopted in accordance with section 2017 of this title, a formula for determining the minimum annual amount of funds necessary to sustain each Bureau-funded school. In establishing such formula, the Secretary shall consider—

(A)the number of eligible Indian students served and total student population of the school;

(B)special cost factors, such as—

(i)the isolation of the school;

(ii)the need for special staffing, transportation, or educational programs;

(iii)food and housing costs;

(iv)maintenance and repair costs associated with the physical condition of the educational facilities;

(v)special transportation and other costs of isolated and small schools;

(vi)the costs of home-living (dormitory) arrangements, where determined necessary by a tribal governing body or designated school board;

(vii)costs associated with greater lengths of service by education personnel;

(viii)the costs of therapeutic programs for students requiring such programs; and

(ix)special costs for gifted and talented students;

(C)the cost of providing academic services which are at least equivalent to those provided by public schools in the State in which the school is located;

(D)whether the available funding will enable the school involved to comply with the accreditation standards applicable to the school under section 2001 of this title; and

(E)such other relevant factors as the Secretary determines are appropriate.

(2)(A)Upon the establishment of the standards required in section 2002 of this title, the Secretary shall revise the formula established under this subsection to reflect the cost of funding such standards.

(B)Not later than January 1, 2003, the Secretary shall review the formula established under this section and shall take such steps as are necessary to increase the availability of counseling and therapeutic programs for students in off-reservation home-living (dormitory) schools and other Bureau-operated residential facilities.

(C)Concurrent with such action, the Secretary shall review the standards established under section 2002 of this title to be certain that adequate provision is made for parental notification regarding, and consent for, such counseling and therapeutic programs.

(b)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Federal funds appropriated for the general local operation of Bureau-funded schools shall be allotted pro rata in accordance with the formula established under subsection (a).

(c)(1)For fiscal year 2003, and for each subsequent fiscal year, the Secretary shall adjust the formula established under subsection (a) to ensure that the formula does the following:

(A)Uses a weighted unit of 1.2 for each eligible Indian student enrolled in the seventh and eighth grades of the school in considering the number of eligible Indian students served by the school.

(B)Considers a school with an enrollment of less than 50 eligible Indian students as having an average daily attendance of 50 eligible Indian students for purposes of implementing the adjustment factor for small schools.

(C)Takes into account the provision of residential services on less than a 9-month basis at a school when the school board and supervisor of the school determine that a less than 9-month basis will be implemented for the school year involved.

(D)Uses a weighted unit of 2.0 for each eligible Indian student that—

(i)is gifted and talented; and

(ii)is enrolled in the school on a full-time basis,

(E)Uses a weighted unit of 0.25 for each eligible Indian student who is enrolled in a year-long credit course in an Indian or Native language as part of the regular curriculum of a school, in considering the number of eligible Indian students served by such school. The adjustment required under this subparagraph shall be used for such school after—

(i)the certification of the Indian or Native language curriculum by the school board of such school to the Secretary, together with an estimate of the number of full-time students expected to be enrolled in the curriculum in the second school year for which the certification is made; and

(ii)the funds appropriated for allotment under this section are designated by the appropriations Act appropriating such funds as the amount necessary to implement such adjustment at such school without reducing allotments made under this section to any school by virtue of such adjustment.

(2)(A)From the funds allotted in accordance with the formula established under subsection (a) for each Bureau school, the local school board of such school may reserve an amount which does not exceed the greater of—

(i)$8,000; or

(ii)the lesser of—

(I)$15,000; or

(II)1 percent of such allotted funds,

(B)(i)Each local school board, and any agency school board that serves as a local school board for any grant or contract school, shall ensure that each individual who is a new member of the school board receives, within 1 year after the individual becomes a member of the school board, 40 hours of training relevant to that individual’s service on the board.

(ii)Such training may include training concerning legal issues pertaining to Bureau-funded schools, legal issues pertaining to school boards, ethics, and other topics determined to be appropriate by the school board.

(iii)The training described in this subparagraph shall not be required, but is recommended, for a tribal governing body that serves in the capacity of a school board.

(d)(1)The Secretary shall reserve from the funds available for distribution for each fiscal year under this section an amount that, in the aggregate, equals 1 percent of the funds available for such purpose for that fiscal year, to be used, at the discretion of the Director of the Office of Indian Education Programs, to meet emergencies and unforeseen contingencies affecting the education programs funded under this section.

(2)Funds reserved under this subsection may be expended only for education services or programs, including emergency repairs of educational facilities, at a schoolsite (as defined by section 2503(c)(2) 11 So in original. Probably should be section “2502(c)(2)”. of this title).

(3)Funds reserved under this subsection shall remain available without fiscal year limitation until expended. However, the aggregate amount available from all fiscal years may not exceed 1 percent of the current year funds.

(4)When the Secretary makes funds available under this subsection, the Secretary shall report such action to the appropriate committees of Congress within the annual budget submission.

(e)Supplemental appropriations enacted to meet increased pay costs attributable to school level personnel shall be distributed under this section.

(f)In this section, the term “eligible Indian student” means a student who—

(1)is a member of, or is at least one-fourth degree Indian blood descendant of a member of, a tribe that is eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States through the Bureau to Indians because of their status as Indians;

(2)resides on or near a reservation or meets the criteria for attendance at a Bureau off-reservation home-living school; and

(3)is enrolled in a Bureau-funded school.

(g)(1)No eligible Indian student or a student attending a Bureau school under paragraph (2)(C) may be charged tuition for attendance at a Bureau school or contract or grant school.

(2)The Secretary may permit the attendance at a Bureau school of a student who is not an eligible Indian student if—

(A)the Secretary determines that the student’s attendance will not adversely affect the school’s program for eligible Indian students because of cost, overcrowding, or violation of standards or accreditation;

(B)the school board consents;

(C)the student is a dependent of a Bureau, Indian Health Service, or tribal government employee who lives on or near the school site; or

(D)tuition is paid for the student that is not more than the tuition charged by the nearest public school district for out-of-district students and shall be in addition to the school’s allocation under this section.

(3)The school board of a contract or grant school may permit students who are not eligible Indian students under this subsection to attend its contract school or grant school. Any tuition collected for those students shall be in addition to funding received under this section.

(h)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, at the election of the school board of a Bureau school made at any time during the fiscal year, a portion equal to not more than 15 percent of the funds allocated with respect to a school under this section for any fiscal year shall remain available to the school for expenditure without fiscal year limitation. The Assistant Secretary shall take such steps as are necessary to implement this subsection.

(i)(1)Tuition for the instruction of each out-of-State Indian student in a home-living situation at the Richfield dormitory in Richfield, Utah, who attends Sevier County high schools in Richfield, Utah, for an academic year, shall be paid from Indian school equalization program funds authorized in this section and section 2009 2 of this title, at a rate not to exceed the weighted amount provided for under subsection (b) for a student for that year.

(2)No additional administrative cost funds shall be provided under this chapter to pay for administrative costs relating to the instruction of the students.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 2007, Pub. L. 95–561, title XI, § 1127, as added Pub. L. 103–382, title III, § 381, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3989, related to allotment formula, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 107–110. Another prior section 2007, Pub. L. 95–561, title XI, § 1127, Nov. 1, 1978, 92 Stat. 2320, related to policies and procedures for implementation of transferred administrative functions, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 103–382.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Jan. 8, 2002, except with respect to certain noncompetitive programs and competitive programs, see section 5 of Pub. L. 107–110, set out as a note under section 6301 of Title 20, Education.

§2007 Allotment Formula