    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 18 (Monday, May 3, 2004)]
    [Pages 713-715]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Executive Order 13336--American Indian and Alaska Native Education

    April 30, 2004

        By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and
    the laws of the United States of America, and to recognize the unique
    educational and culturally related academic needs of American Indian and
    Alaska Native students consistent with the unique political and legal
    relationship of the Federal Government with tribal governments, it is
    hereby ordered as follows:
        Section 1. Purpose. The United States has a unique legal
    relationship with Indian tribes and a special relationship with Alaska
    Native entities as provided in the Constitution of the United States,
    treaties, and Federal statutes. This Administration is committed to
    continuing to work with these Federally recognized tribal governments on
    a government-to-government basis, and supports tribal sovereignty and
    self-determination. It is the purpose of this order to assist American
    Indian and Alaska Native students in meeting the challenging student
    academic standards of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law
    107-110) in a manner that is consistent with tribal traditions,
    languages, and cultures. This order builds on the innovations, reforms,
    and high standards of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, including:
    stronger accountability for results; greater flexibility in the use of
    Federal funds; more choices for parents; and an emphasis on research-
    based instruction that works.
        Sec. 2. Interagency Working Group. There is established an
    Interagency Working Group on American Indian and Alaska Native Education
    (Working Group) to oversee the implementation of this order.
        (a) The Working Group's members shall consist exclusively of the
    heads of the executive branch departments, agencies, or offices listed
    below:
     (i)         the Department of Education;
     (ii)        the Department of the Interior;
     (iii)       the Department of Health and Human Services;
     (iv)        the Department of Agriculture;
     (v)         the Department of Justice;
     (vi)        the Department of Labor; and
     (vii)       such other executive branch departments, agencies, or
                offices as the Co-Chairs of the Working Group may designate.
        A member of the Working Group may designate, to perform the Working
    Group functions of the member, an employee of the member's department,
    agency, or office who is either an officer of the United States
    appointed by the President, or a full-time employee serving in a
    position with pay equal to or greater than the minimum rate payable for
    GS-15 of the General Schedule. The Working Group shall be led by the
    Secretaries of Education and the Interior, or their designees under this
    section, who shall serve as Co-Chairs.
        (b) The function of the Working Group is to oversee the
    implementation of this order. The Working Group shall, within 90 days of
    the date of this order, develop a Federal interagency plan that
    recommends initiatives, strategies, and ideas for future interagency
    actions that promote the purpose, as stated in section 1, of this order.
    In carrying out its activities under this order, the Working Group may
    consult with representatives of American Indian and Alaska Native tribes
    and organizations, in conformity with Executive Order 13175 of November
    6, 2000, and with the National Advisory Council on Indian Education
    (NACIE). Any such consultations shall be for the purpose of obtaining
    information and advice concerning American Indian and Alaska Native
    education and shall be conducted in a manner that seeks individual
    advice and does not involve collective judgment or consensus advice or
    deliberation.
        Sec. 3. Study and Report. The Secretary of Education, in
    coordination with the Working Group, shall conduct a multi-year study

    [[Page 714]]

    of American Indian and Alaska Native education with the purpose of
    improving American Indian and Alaska Native students' ability to meet
    the challenging student academic standards of the No Child Left Behind
    Act of 2001.
        (a) The study shall include, but not be limited to:
     (i)         the compilation of comprehensive data on the academic
                achievement and progress of American Indian and Alaska
                Native students toward meeting the challenging student
                academic standards of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001;
     (ii)        identification and dissemination of research-based
                practices and proven methods in raising academic achievement
                and, in particular, reading achievement, of American Indian
                and Alaska Native students;
     (iii)       assessment of the impact and role of native language and
                culture on the development of educational strategies to
                improve academic achievement;
     (iv)        development of methods to strengthen early childhood
                education so that American Indian and Alaska Native students
                enter school ready to learn; and
     (v)         development of methods to increase the high school
                graduation rate and develop pathways to college and the
                workplace for American Indian and Alaska Native students.
        The Secretary of Education shall develop an agenda, including
    proposed timelines and ongoing activities, for the conduct of the study,
    and shall make that agenda available to the public on the Internet.
        (b) The Secretary of Education, in coordination with the Working
    Group, shall issue a report to the President that shall:

     (i)         provide the latest data available from the study;
     (ii)        comprehensively describe the educational status and
                progress of American Indian and Alaska Native students with
                respect to meeting the goals outlined in the No Child Left
                Behind Act of 2001 and any other student achievement goals
                the Secretary of Education or the Secretary of the Interior
                may deem necessary;
     (iii)       report on proven methods for improving American Indian and
                Alaska Native student academic achievement; and
     (iv)        update the Federal interagency plan outlined in section
                2(b) of this order.
        Sec. 4. Enhancement of Research Capabilities of Tribal-Level
    Educational Institutions. The Secretary of Education and the Secretary
    of the Interior shall consult with the entities set forth in section
    2(a) of this order and tribally controlled colleges and universities to
    seek ways to develop and enhance the capacity of tribal governments,
    tribal universities and colleges, and schools and educational programs
    serving American Indian and Alaska Native students and communities to
    carry out, disseminate, and implement education research, as well as to
    develop related partnerships or collaborations with non-tribal
    universities, colleges, and research organizations.
        Sec. 5. National Conference. The Secretary of Education and the
    Secretary of the Interior, in collaboration with the Working Group and
    Federal, State, tribal, and local government representatives, shall
    jointly convene a forum on the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to
    identify means to enhance communication, collaboration, and cooperative
    strategies to improve the education of American Indian and Alaska Native
    students attending Federal, State, tribal, and local schools.
        Sec. 6. Administration. The Department of Education shall provide
    appropriate administrative services and staff support to the Working
    Group. With the consent of the Department of Education, other
    participating agencies may provide administrative support to the Working
    Group, to the extent permitted by law and consistent with their
    statutory authority.
        Sec. 7. Termination. The Working Group established under section 2
    of this order shall terminate not later than 5 years from the date of
    this order, unless extended by the President.
        Sec. 8. Consultation. The Secretary of Education and Secretary of
    the Interior shall consult the Attorney General as appropriate

    [[Page 715]]

    on the implementation of this order, to ensure that such implementation
    affords the equal protection of the laws required by the due process
    clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.
        Sec. 9. General Provisions.
        (a) This order is intended only to improve the internal management
    of the executive branch and is not intended to, and does not, create any
    right, benefit, or trust responsibility, substantive or procedural,
    enforceable at law or equity, by a party against the United States, its
    agencies or instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other
    person.
        (b) Executive Order 13096 of August 6, 1998, is revoked.
                                                    George W. Bush
     The White House,
     April 30, 2004.

     [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., May 4, 2004]

    Note: This Executive order will be published in the Federal Register on
    May 5.