[Senate Report 112-262]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 574
112th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     112-262

======================================================================

 
    PROVIDING A COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORK TO IMPROVE NATIVE AMERICAN 
    EDUCATION--ONE THAT INCORPORATES A WIDE RANGE OF STRATEGIES TO 
 STRENGTHEN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE EDUCATION, LOCAL ACCESS AND CONTROL, 
                  AND TEACHER TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT

                                _______
                                

               December 21, 2012.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

           Mr. Akaka, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1262]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 1262) to improve Indian education, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
with an amendment and recommends that the bill (as amended) do 
pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 1262 is to provide a comprehensive 
framework to improve Native American education--one that 
incorporates a wide range of strategies to strengthen language 
and culture education, local access and control, and teacher 
training and recruitment.

                         BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

    The U.S. has had a longstanding involvement in the 
education of Native peoples. In 1775, The Continental Congress 
appropriated funds to pay expenses of 10 Indian students at 
Dartmouth College.\1\
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    \1\Worthington Chauncey Ford, ed., Journals of the Continental 
Congress, 1774-1789, Vol. II, 1775, May 10-September 20 (Washington: 
GPO, 1905), pp. 176-177. Congress's stated intent was to keep the 
students from returning to their homes in British Canada.
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    From the Revolution until after the Civil War, the federal 
government provided for Indian education either by directly 
funding teachers or schools on a tribe-by-tribe basis pursuant 
to treaty provisions or by funding religious and other 
charitable groups to establish schools where they saw fit. The 
first Indian treaty providing for any form of education for a 
tribe--in this case, vocational--was in 1794.\2\ The first 
treaty providing for academic instruction for a tribe was in 
1803.\3\ Altogether over 150 treaties with individual tribes 
provided for instructors, teachers, or schools, whether 
vocational, academic, or both, either permanently or for a 
limited period of time.\4\ The first federal statute 
authorizing appropriations to ``promote civilization'' among 
Indian tribes was the Indian Trade and Intercourse Act of 
1793,\5\ but the Civilization Act of 1819 was the first 
authorization and appropriation specifically for instruction of 
Indian children near frontier settlements in reading, writing, 
and arithmetic.\6\ Civilization Act funds were expended through 
contracts with missionary and benevolent societies. Besides 
treaty schools and ``mission'' schools, some additional schools 
were initiated and funded directly by Indian tribes. The state 
of New York also operated schools for its Indian tribes. The 
total of such treaty, mission, tribal, and New York schools 
reached into the hundreds by the Civil War.\7\
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    \2\Treaty with the Oneida, Etc., Art. III, December 2, 1794, 7 
Stat. 47, 48. The United States agreed not only to construct gristmills 
and sawmills for the Oneida, Tuscarora, and Stockbridge tribes but also 
to send persons to instruct the tribes in their use. See also Alice C. 
Fletcher, Indian Education and Civilization, U.S. Bureau of Education 
Special Report, Sen. Ex. Doc. 95, 48th Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington: 
GPO, 1888), p. 162.
    \3\Treaty with the Kaskaskia, Art. 3d, August 13, 1803, 7 Stat. 78, 
79.
    \4\Nell Jessup Newton, ed.-in-chief, Cohen's Handbook of Federal 
Indian Law 2005 Edition (Newark, NJ: LexisNexis Matthew Bender, 2005), 
p. 1356. Congress ended treaty-making with Indian tribes in 1871.
    \5\Sec. 9, Act of March 1, 1793, Chap. 19, 2nd Cong., 2nd sess., 1 
Stat. 329, 331. As civilizing factors, the section specifically 
authorizes domestic animals, farming equipment, goods, money, and 
resident agents, but not teachers or schools.
    \6\Act of March 3, 1819, Chap. 85, 15th Cong., 2nd sess., 3 Stat. 
516. Previous appropriations for Indian affairs would have funded 
education only for children of tribes that signed treaties providing 
for education.
    \7\Fletcher, Indian Education and Civilization, p. 197.
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    After the Civil War, the U.S. government began to create a 
federal Indian school system, with schools not only funded but 
also constructed and operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
(BIA)\8\ with central policies and oversight.\9\ In 1869, the 
Board of Indian Commissioners--a federally appointed board that 
jointly controlled with Interior the disbursement of certain 
funds for Indians\10\--recommended the establishment of 
government schools and teachers.\11\ Building upon prior 
programs, in 1870 Congress passed the first general 
appropriation for Indian schools.\12\ The initial appropriation 
was $100,000, but both the amount appropriated and the number 
of schools operated by the BIA rose swiftly thereafter.\13\ The 
BIA created both boarding and day schools, including off-
reservation industrial boarding schools on the model of the 
Carlisle Indian Industrial School (established in 1879).\14\ 
Many Indian children attended on- or off-reservation boarding 
schools.\15\ BIA schools were chiefly elementary and vocational 
schools.\16\
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    \8\The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), which housed the former 
Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP), was responsible for Indian 
education programs. In 2006, the Secretary of the Interior moved the 
OIEP out of the BIA and made it an agency equivalent to the BIA, 
renaming it the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). Both bureaus are 
under the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs. For the purposes of this 
Committee report, BIA and BIE will be used interchangeably.
    \9\Szasz, Margaret Connell, and Ryan, Carmelita, ``American Indian 
Education,'' in Wilcomb E. Washburn, vol. ed., Handbook of North 
American Indians, Vol. 4, Indian-White Relations (Washington: 
Smithsonian, 1988), p. 290.
    \10\The Board of Commissioners was created by the April 10, 1869, 
act (16 Stat. 40).
    \11\Fletcher, Indian Education and Civilization, p. 167.
    \12\An Act Making Appropriations for the Current and Contingent 
Expenses of the Indian Department . . ., Act of July 15, 1870, Chap. 
296, 41st Cong., 2nd sess., 16 Stat. 335, 359. See also U.S. American 
Indian Policy Review Commission, Task Force Five: Indian Education, 
Report on Indian Education, Committee Print (Washington: GPO, 1976), p. 
69.
    \13\Paul Stuart, Nations Within a Nation: Historical Statistics of 
American Indians (New York: Greenwood Press, 1987), pp. 135, 165.
    \14\Founded by Army Captain Richard H. Pratt on an unused Army base 
in Carlisle, PA, the school's model of educating Indian students in an 
off-reservation manual labor boarding school, away from students' 
families and cultures, became well-known. Pratt, its first 
superintendent, publicized the school and its emphasis on assimilation. 
Carlisle was funded through Indian appropriations bills and private 
donations. It closed in 1918. See Szasz and Ryan, ``American Indian 
Education,'' pp. 290-291.
    \15\Francis Paul Prucha, The Great Father: The United States 
Government and the American Indians (Lincoln: University of Nebraska 
Press, 1984), pp. 815-816.
    \16\Szasz and Ryan, ``American Indian Education,'' pp. 290-294.
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    An organizational structure for BIA education began with a 
Medical and Education Division during 1873-1881, appointment of 
a superintendent of education in 1883, and creation of an 
education division in 1884.\17\ The education of Alaska Native 
children, however, along with that of other Alaskan children, 
was assigned in 1885 to Interior's Office of Education, not the 
BIA.\18\ Mission, tribal,\19\ and New York state schools 
continued to operate, and the proportion of school-age Indian 
children attending a BIA, mission, tribal, or New York school 
rose slowly.\20\
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    \17\Edward E. Hill, comp., Guide to Records in the National 
Archives of the United States Relating to American Indians Washington: 
National Archives and Records Service, 1981), p. 24. See also Szasz and 
Ryan, ``American Indian Education,'' pp. 290, 293.
    \18\Hill, Guide to Records, p. 112; and Szasz and Ryan, ``American 
Indian Education,'' p. 297. Authorization for Alaska Native education 
was in Sec. 13, Act of May 17, 1884, Chap. 53, 48th Cong. 1st sess., 23 
Stat. 24, 27-28.
    \19\After 1870, most tribal schools were in Oklahoma, operated by 
one of the ``Five Civilized Tribes'' (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, 
Creek, and Seminole), as they were then called.
    \20\Szasz and Ryan, ``American Indian Education,'' p. 291.
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    A major long-term shift in federal Indian education policy, 
from federal schools to public schools, began in FY1890-91 when 
the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, using his general authority 
in Indian affairs, contracted with a few local public school 
districts to educate nearby Indian children for whose schooling 
the BIA was responsible.\21\ After 1910, the BIA pushed to move 
Indian children to nearby public schools and to close BIA 
schools.\22\ Congress provided minimal appropriations to pay 
public schools for Indian students.\23\ By 1920, more Indian 
students were in public schools than BIA schools.\24\
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    \21\U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, 
Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs Fiscal Year 1890-
1891] (Washington: GPO, 1891), p. 71.
    \22\Prucha, Great Father, pp. 823-825.
    \23\Prucha, Great Father, pp. 824-825.
    \24\U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
Report on BIA Education: Excellence in Indian Education Through the 
Effective Schools Process. Final Review Draft (Washington: The 
Department, 1988), Table 1, p. 15.
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    In 1921, Congress passed the Snyder Act\25\ in order to 
authorize all programs the BIA was then carrying out. However, 
most BIA programs at the time, including education, lacked 
authorizing legislation. The Snyder Act continues to provide 
broad and permanent authorization for federal Indian programs.
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    \25\Act of November 2, 1921, 42 Stat. 208, as amended; 25 U.S.C. 
Sec. 13.
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    In 1934, Congress enacted the Johnson O'Malley Act\26\ 
(JOM) which authorized the BIA to contract with states for 
Native education. The JOM program is designed to meet the 
specialized educational needs of Native students. JOM funds are 
used to supplement other educational programs, and can be used 
for tutoring, books, supplies, Native language classes, 
cultural activities, after-school activities, and any other 
education-related activities for Native students.
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    \26\25 U.S.C. Sec. 452-457
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    In 1953, Congress enacted the Impact Aid Act\27\ which was 
the first education funding provided by the Department of 
Education for Native students. This Act provided funding to 
school districts to help fund the education of children from 
federally-impacted areas. Federally-impacted areas include 
areas where the federal government owns property, such as 
Indian trust lands and military bases. Because most school 
districts are funded through the federal government and local 
property taxes, and taxes cannot be collected on federal lands, 
the Impact Aid Act compensates local school districts for the 
education of children who reside on federal lands. Impact Aid 
funding is now part of Title VIII of the Elementary and 
Secondary Act.
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    \27\20 U.S.C. Sec. 7701 et seq.
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    Additional funding from the Department of Education was 
authorized in the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 
(ESEA)\28\. The ESEA provided a set-aside for BIA schools. The 
Indian Education Act of 1972\29\ also established the Office of 
Indian Education within the Department of Education. This was 
the first office outside the Department of Interior established 
to oversee a federal Native education program.
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    \28\Pub. L. No. 89-10 (1965).
    \29\20 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 7401-7402.
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    The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 
of 1975\30\ enabled tribes to take over the operation through 
grants or contracts of their BIE schools and perform the 
functions that the BIA had performed. Today, 124, or two-thirds 
of the 184 BIE schools, are grant schools.
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    \30\Pub. L. No. 93-638 (1975).
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    The ESEA remains the primary source of federal aid for K-12 
education. The most recent amendment and reauthorization of the 
ESEA, was the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001.\31\ The 
NCLB added Title VII to the ESEA, which provides a wide range 
of provisions specifically for Native education.
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    \31\Pub. L. No. 107-110 (2002).
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    NCLB was also a major expansion of federal influence over 
K-12 education. The NCLB relied on measures of accountability 
for public school systems and each individual student. States 
were required to implement standards-based assessments in 
reading, math and science which were measured in an annual 
yearly progress (AYP) for each school and school district. The 
goal was for all public schools to reach an AYP of proficient 
or higher by the end of the 2013-14 school year. If schools did 
not meet AYP for two consecutive years or more, accountability 
steps were put in place including school improvement, 
corrective action and school restructuring. As of the 2008 
school year, 29% of public schools were failing to make AYP.
    The BIE school system is also subject to NCLB. The 
Secretary of the Interior was charged with defining AYP for BIE 
schools. The Secretary conducted a negotiated rulemaking and it 
was determined that each BIE school's AYP would be defined by 
the state in which the school is located.
    In anticipation of the reauthorization of the ESEA, Indian 
tribes, Native groups, and intertribal organizations have been 
communicating to the Committee their various concerns for the 
future of Native education.

                          NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    In the ESEA, the federal government firmly stated its 
interest in and dedication to the education of Native peoples, 
stating, ``it is the policy of the United States to fulfill the 
federal government's unique and continuing trust relationship 
with and responsibility to the Indian people for the education 
of Indian children.''\32\ Despite that firm affirmation and the 
centuries-old tradition of attempting to ensure the education 
of Native children, there remain significant achievement gaps 
in educational outcomes for Native students in both BIE and 
public schools when compared to non-Native students. Major 
reports by the federal government on Native education issued in 
1928,\33\ 1969\34\ and 1991\35\ have demonstrated relatively 
little improvement in the education of Native peoples in 80 
years--especially as it concerns retaining tribal cultures and 
identities through adequate language instruction.\36\
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    \32\20 U.S.C. Sec. 7401. Title 25 of the U.S. Code also refers to 
``the federal responsibility for and assistance to education of Indian 
children. 25 U.S.C. Sec. 450(b)(2).
    \33\L. Meriam, Institute for Government Research, The Problem of 
Indian Administration (1928).
    \34\U.S. Senate Special Subcommittee on Indian Education, Committee 
on Labor and Public Welfare, Indian Education: a National Tragedy, a 
National Challenge (``Kennedy Report''), 1969, http://www.tedna.org/
pubs/Kennedy/toc.htm, accessed 18 June 2011.
    \35\ U.S. Department of Education, Indian Nations at Risk: An 
Educational Strategy for Action--Final Report of the Indian Nations at 
Risk Task Force, 1991 available at http://www.tedna.org/pubs/
nationsatrisk.pdf (last visited Dec. 15, 2011).
    \36\ See Id. at 31-33.
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    The federal government currently provides education funding 
and services to Native students through the Departments of 
Interior and Education. The Department of the Interior delivers 
services or support in two primary ways, through federally 
funded Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools or through 
education assistance via funding to public schools attended by 
Native students through the Johnson O'Malley Act.
    Currently 620,000, or 93%, of Native students attend public 
schools and approximately 45,000, or 7%, attend BIE 
schools.\37\ There are 184 BIE-funded schools (including 14 
peripheral dormitories) located on 63 reservations in 23 
states.\38\ More than 70 percent of those schools and students 
are located in four states: New Mexico, Arizona, North Dakota 
and South Dakota.\39\ Public schools receive funding for Native 
students through the Department of Education, and BIE schools 
receive funding both through the Department of Interior's 
budget and through Department of Education programs that serve 
Native students.
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    \37\National Indian Education Association, Native Education 101: 
Basic Facts about American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
Education, Available at http://www.niea.org/data/files/policy/
nativeeducation101.pdf (last visited Dec. 15, 2011).
    \38\Id. at 3.
    \39\Bureau of Indian Education National Directory, June 2011, 
available at http://www.bie.edu/idc/groups/xbie/documents/text/
idc014129.pdf (last visited Dec. 15, 2011).
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    Native education associations provide, and the Committee 
notes that ESEA and other programs aimed at educating Native 
students are not yielding the desired outcomes and must be 
altered to address this reality. The national graduation rate 
for Native students is the lowest of any racial or ethnic 
group. Only 49.3% of Native students graduate high school, 
compared to 76.2% for their Caucasian counterparts.\40\ Among 
those who graduate only 13.3% go on to receive a college degree 
compared with a national average of 24.4%.\41\ According to the 
BIE, 25% of BIE schools made AYP in SY2007-2008, and 33% made 
AYP in SY2008-2009.\42\ In SY2008-2009, 66% of all public 
schools made AYP.\43\ Further, according to Tribal Education 
Departments National Assembly (TEDNA), the high school dropout 
rate of tribal students is 50%--nearly double that of their 
Caucasian peers; tribal students have the highest rates of 
absenteeism, suspension, and expulsion; and tribal 8th grade 
students are 18% more likely to read or perform in mathematics 
at a ``below basic'' level than their Caucasian peers.\44\
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    \40\ National Indian Education Association, Native Education 101: 
Basic Facts about American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
Education, Available at http://www.niea.org/data/files/policy/
nativeeducation101.pdf (last visited Dec. 15, 2011).
    \41\ National Indian Education Association, National Native 
Education Agenda, A Transition Paper for the Department of Education, 
2008 available at http://www.niea.org/data/files/
policy/2008transitionpaperdoe.pdf (last visited Dec. 15, 2011).
    \42\FY2012 Budget, p. IA-EDU-10.
    \43\U.S. Department of Education, Justifications of Appropriation 
Estimates to the Congress, Fiscal Year 2012.
    \44\Tribal Education Departments National Assembly, The Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act Reauthorization Recommendations for Tribal 
Education Departments/Agencies, Boulder, CO, (cont'd) February 11, 
2011, http://www.tedna.org/articles/
esea_reauthorization_recommendations.pdf (last accessed 11/4/12).
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    Proffered reasons for the achievement gap center around 
severe underfunding of federal programs; the inability of 
tribes to attract and retain quality teachers to teach on or 
near reservations; a fractured administration between the 
Department of the Interior and the Department of Education in 
implementing programs; and a lack of cultural relevance in 
curriculum, operational philosophy, and language instruction. 
With regard to NCLB, common tribal concerns received by the 
Committee are that the Act had a disproportionally negative 
impact on high-poverty schools such as many schools serving 
Native students, teaching and enforcement processes under the 
Act were too rigid and did not allow flexibility in teaching, 
and that the Act lacked a mechanism to attract highly-qualified 
teachers to underperforming schools and that its standards were 
unrealistic.
    In developing S. 1262 with an aim at addressing tribal 
concerns and affecting more positive educational outcomes for 
Native students, the Committee received views from a broad 
range of Native stakeholders to develop ideas for improving the 
status of Native education. During the 112th Congress, the 
Committee held a roundtable discussion on Native education, an 
oversight hearing on language and culture-based education, and 
met with tribal leaders, as well as national and regional 
intertribal organizations. Recommendations from these 
stakeholders fell into three distinct themes: (1) language and 
culture-based education; (2) teacher training, recruitment, and 
retention; and (3) tribal access and local control.
    Native education organizations and tribal leaders have 
repeatedly called for greater involvement in the education of 
their students, especially those in public schools. S. 1262 
would encourage increased consultation and coordination between 
tribes, Native students and parents, and/or tribal 
organizations by requiring the Department of Education, DOI, 
states, and local education agencies (LEAs) to increase or 
begin consulting or coordinating with them. Further, S. 1262 
would require that states develop standards-based assessments 
and classroom lessons to accommodate diverse learning styles. 
The Committee notes that leaders in the field of Native 
education believe a major problem leading to achievement gaps 
is that traditional Eurocentric educational styles are not 
conducive to teaching Native students. The bill would promote 
language preservation by permitting tribal elders to teach 
Native languages through provisions aimed at qualifying them as 
highly qualified teachers for the purposes of teaching Native 
language and culture. S. 1262 would also authorize set-asides 
and other funding mechanisms to attract teachers to 
underperforming schools and moreover to ensure the adequate 
funding of Native education programs.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 1262, the Native Culture, Language, and Access for 
Success in Schools Act, was introduced on June 23, 2011, by 
Senator Akaka, and is co-sponsored by Senators Inouye of 
Hawaii, Johnson of South Dakota, and Udall of New Mexico. Two 
similar bills--H.R. 3568 and H.R. 3569--were introduced in the 
House of Representatives on December 6, 2011. The former by 
Representative Dale Kildee of Michigan's 5th District and the 
latter by Representative Joe Baca of California's 43rd 
District. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held a 
legislative hearing on S. 1262 on June 30, 2011 and a business 
meeting to consider the bill on October 20, 2011.
    During the business meeting on October 20, 2011, the bill 
was reported favorably with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute, a technical amendment and one other amendment to 
the full Senate.

         SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE

    The substitute amendment removes from the original bill 
narrow exemptions for tribal schools and educators from 
standards for high-quality teachers and state assessments, 
essentially leaving intact the current framework in the 
education law commonly known as No Child Left Behind.
    Specifically, the exemptions would have allowed states to 
develop standards-based assessments to accommodate diverse 
learning styles in place of general assessments under the law. 
They also would have applied to Native language teachers.
    It would exempt most tribal colleges and universities from 
certain eligibility applications to receive financial 
assistance. It also would create an Indian language and 
training program to award competitive grants to eligible 
institutions to promote the preservation, revitalization and 
use of Indian languages.
    The substitute amendment also establishes ``Centers for 
Innovation in Tribally Directed Education,'' which would 
provide technical and professional expertise to Indian tribes 
to help them grow and maintain the capacity to deliver 
education services to Indian children. Grants would be awarded 
to entities to help establish the centers.
    Lastly, the substitute would also create educational and 
culture programs specifically geared toward Native Hawaiians, 
including grants for a Native Hawaiian education council.

          SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS AMENDED

Section 1. Short title; table of contents

    This section provides that the short title of the bill is 
the ``Native Culture, Language, and Access for Success in 
Schools Act'' and lays out a table of contents.

        Title I--Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

    This title generally makes amendments to the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965.

  SUBTITLE A--IMPROVING THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE DISADVANTAGED

Section 111. Improving the education of students

    This section makes various amendments to Part A of title I 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) including provisions regarding 
standards-based education assessments, Native American 
languages, and the Indian School Turn Around Program.

Section 112. Prevention and intervention programs for children and 
        youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at-risk

    This section makes various amendments to Part D of title I 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) including provisions regarding Tribal 
consultation, grants to Indian Tribes, and technical 
assistance.

Section 113. State Administration

    This section amends Section 1903(b)(2) of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. 
6573(b)(2)).

 SUBTITLE B--PREPARING, TRAINING, AND RECRUITING HIGH-QUALITY TEACHERS 
                             AND PRINCIPALS

Section 121. Preparing, training, and recruiting high-quality teachers 
        and principals

    This section amends Title II of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) 
including provisions regarding high need local education 
agencies and the Indian educator scholarship program.

             SUBTITLE C--NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES PROGRAMS

Section 131. Improvement of academic success of Indian students through 
        Native American languages and programs

    This section amends Subpart 1 of part A of title III of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 6821 et seq.) 
to provide for Native American languages programs, grants for 
such programs, and authorizes appropriations.

Section 132. State and tribal educational agency agreements

    This section amends Part A of title III of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.) 
adding a section thereto dealing with state and tribal 
education agency agreements.

                    SUBTITLE D--21ST CENTURY SCHOOLS

Section 141. Safe and healthy schools for Native American students

    This section amends subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) (20 
U.S.C. 7131 et seq.) providing for the establishment of a 
program to improve the school environments and student skill 
development for healthy choices for Native American students in 
all public elementary and secondary schools that are eligible 
to receive support under part A of title VII of the ESEA.

   SUBTITLE E--CENTERS FOR INNOVATION IN TRIBALLY DIRECTED EDUCATION

Section 151. Centers for innovation in tribally directed education

    This section amends Part A of title V of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.) to deal with 
centers for innovation in tribally directed education and 
grants and guidelines for such grants to such centers.

Section 152. Authorization of appropriations

    This section amends Section 5156 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7121e) to authorize 
appropriations for those grants discussed in Section 151.

    SUBTITLE F--INDIAN, NATIVE HAWAIIAN, AND ALASKA NATIVE EDUCATION

                       PART I--INDIAN EDUCATION 


Section 161. Purpose

    This section amends section 7102 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7402) by adding a 
new ``purpose'' section to that statute.

Section 162. Purpose of formula grants

    This section amends section 7111 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7421) to revise its 
purpose statement.

Section 163. Grants to local educational agencies and tribes

    This section amends section 7112 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7422) including 
provisions regarding grants to consortia of two or more local 
educational agencies.

Section 164. Amount of grants

    This section amends section 7113 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7423) addressing the 
amount of grants.

Section 165. Applications

    This section amends section 7114 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7424) including 
provisions regarding outreach to local education agencies.

Section 166. Authorized services and activities

    This section amends section 7115 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7425) including 
provisions regarding Native American language programs and 
Native American language restoration programs.

Section 167. Student eligibility forms

    This section amends section 7117(e) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7427(e)) including a 
provision regarding record keeping by local educational 
agencies.

Section 168. Technical assistance

    This section amends subpart 1 of part A of title VII of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7421 
et seq.) to address technical assistance to Indian tribes and 
local educational agencies.

Section 169. Amendments relating to tribal colleges and universities

    This section amends subpart 2 of part A of title VII of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7441 
et seq.) to address funding to tribal colleges and 
universities.

Section 170. Tribal educational agency cooperative agreements

    This section amends subpart 2 of part A of title VII of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7441 
et seq.) to address cooperative agreements between tribal 
education agencies and their state and local education 
agencies.

Section 171. Tribal educational agencies pilot project

    This section amends subpart 2 of part A of title VII of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7441 
et seq.) to establish and set out provisions for a tribal 
educational agency pilot project.

Section 172. Improving support for teachers and administrators of 
        Native American students

    This section amends subpart 2 of part A of title VII of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7441 
et seq.) to authorize grants to eligible entities to enable 
such entities to expand or develop programs aimed at teacher 
and administrator preparation and recruitment.

Section 173. National board certification incentive demonstration 
        program

    This section amends subpart 2 of part A of title VII of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7441 
et seq.) to establish a national board certification incentive 
demonstration program.

Section 174. Tribal language immersion schools

    This section amends subpart 2 of part A of title VII of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7441 
et seq.) to authorize grants to enable the development of 
tribal language immersion schools.

Section 175. Coordination of Indian student information

    This section amends subpart 3 of part A of title VII of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7451 
et seq.) to address the coordination of Indian student 
information including provisions regarding the award of grants, 
data elements, and a report to Congress on the status of 
implementation of this section.

Section 176. Authorization of appropriations

    This section authorizes appropriations for carrying out 
subparts 1, 2 and 3.

                  PART II--NATIVE HAWAIIAN EDUCATION 


Section 177. Findings

    This section amends section 7202 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7511 et seq.) by laying out 
findings associated with this part of the legislation.

Section 178. Purposes

    This section amends section 7203 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7513) to lay out purposes of 
this part of the legislation.

Section 179. Native Hawaiian Education Council Grant

    This section amends section 7204 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7514) regarding the 
authorization of a grant for the Native Hawaiian Education 
Council.

Section 180. Grant program authorized

    This section amends section 7205 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7515 et seq.).

Section 181. Administrative provisions; authorization of appropriations

    This section amends section 7206 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7516) with regard to 
administrative provisions and the authorization of 
appropriations.

Section 182. Definitions

    This section amends section 7207 (20 U.S.C. 7517) with 
regard to certain definitions.

                         SUBTITLE G--IMPACT AID

Section 185. Impact Aid

    This section amends section 8004 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7704).

                     SUBTITLE H--GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 191. Highly qualified definition

    This section amends section 9209(23) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801(23)) with 
regard to the definition of ``highly qualified.''

Section 192. Applicability of ESEA to Bureau of Indian Education 
        schools.

    This section amends section 9103 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7821) regarding the 
applicability of such act to Bureau of Indian Education 
Schools.

Section 193. Increased access to resources for tribal schools, schools 
        served by the Bureau of Indian Education, and Native American 
        students

    This section amends subpart 2 of part E of title IX of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7901 
et seq.) with regard to technical assistance and capacity 
building.

                  Title II--Amendments to Other Laws 


Section 201. Amendments to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 
        of 2009 to provide funding for Indian programs

    This section amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment 
Act of 2009 to provide funding for Indian programs such as 
Bureau of Indian Education schools.

Section 202. Qualified scholarships for education and cultural 
        benefits.

    This section amends section 1117 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 with respect to income and qualified Indian 
education benefits and qualified Indian cultural benefits.

Section 203. Tribal Education Policy Advisory Group

    This section amends section 1126 of the Education 
Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2006) to establish a tribal 
education policy advisory group.

Section 204. Division of budget analysis

    This section amends section 1129 of the Education 
Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2009) with regard to funding 
associated with Bureau of Indian Education schools.

Section 205. Tribal education agencies

    This section makes various amendments to section 1140 of 
the Education Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2020).

Section 206. Qualified school construction bond escrow account

    This section amends part B of title II of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 458) 
regarding the establishment of a qualified school construction 
bond escrow account.

Section 207. Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994

    This section makes various amendments to section 532 of the 
Equity in Education al Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 
301 note).

Section 208. Workforce Investment Act of 1998

    This section makes various amendments to Title II of the 
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (20 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.) 
including the establishment of an American Indian, Native 
Hawaiian, and Tribal College or University Adult Education and 
Literacy Grant Program.

Section 209. Technical amendments to Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 
        1988

    This section makes technical amendments to certain sections 
of the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988.

Section 210. Exemption from eligibility application

    This section makes amendments to paragraph (1) of section 
316(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1059c(d)).

Section 211. Tribal colleges and universities American Indian language 
        vitalization and training program

    This section amends part A of title III of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1057 et seq.) by adding at the 
end a section dealing with the authorization of an American 
Indian Language Vitalization and Training Program.

Section 212. Administrative cost grants for tribally operated schools

    This section makes amendments to section 1128(1)(1) of the 
Education Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2008(l)(1)).

Section 213. Tribal member student records

    This section amends section 444(b)(1)(C) of the General 
Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g(b)(1)(C)).

              Title III--Additional Education Provisions 


Section 301. Native American student support

    This section addresses program expansion within the 
Department of Education for research and support associated 
with culture and language-based education and Native American 
school children.

Section 302. Ensuring the survival and continuing vitality of Native 
        American languages

    This section provides for a grant program aimed at ensuring 
the survival of Native American languages.

Section 303. In-school facility innovation program contest

    This section provides for a contest involving improvements 
to tribal school facilities administered by the Secretary of 
the Interior.

Section 304. Retrocession or reassumption of certain school funds

    This section discusses what is to happen with certain funds 
when Public Law 100-297 grantees or Public Law 93-638 contract 
schools retrocede authority to, or such authority is reassumed 
by, the Bureau of Indian Education.

Section 305. Department of the Interior and Department of Education 
        Joint Oversight Board

    This section provides for the establishment of a Department 
of the Interior and Department of Education Joint Oversight 
Board of Native American education.

Section 306. Tribal self-governance feasibility study

    This section provides for the conducting of a study to 
determine the feasibility of entering into self-governance 
compacts and contract with Indian tribal governments who wish 
to operate public schools that reside within their lands. This 
section also provides for the considerations the Secretary of 
Education must consider when conducting such study and its 
report to Congress.

Section 307. Establishment of Center for Indigenous Excellence

    This section calls for the establishment, and describes the 
role of, a prospective Center for Indigenous Excellence.

            COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTE

    In an open business meeting on October 20, 2011, the 
Committee on Indian Affairs, by voice vote, adopted S. 1262 
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, a technical 
amendment and one other amendment, and ordered the bill 
reported to the Senate, with the recommendation that the Senate 
do pass S. 1262 as reported.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The cost estimate provided by the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974 was not available for inclusion in this report. The 
estimate will be printed in either a supplemental report or the 
Congressional Record when it is available.

               REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT

    Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate requires that each report accompanying a bill to 
evaluate the regulatory and paperwork impact that would be 
incurred in carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that 
the regulatory impact of S. 1262 will be minimal.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The Committee has received no communications from the 
Executive Branch regarding S. 1262.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In the opinion of the committee, it is necessary to 
dispense with the requirements of paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of 
the Standing Rules of the Senate to expedite the business of 
the Senate.

                                  
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