Indian Education Legislative Report, 106th Congress, Second Session.

Overview & Synopsis

This report notes that with a Republican majority in the 106th Congress and a Democratic administration, little new legislation was passed, but funding for Indian education programs did better than at any time in the recent past. Funding highlights include: no funding for school renovation grants to public schools with high concentrations of American Indian students or for a bonding proposal in the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA); a failure to reopen the National Advisory Council on Indian Education; reduced funding for vocational and adult education grants, some of which are dedicated to American Indians; continuation of the American Indian Teacher Corps; maintenance of a tribally controlled postsecondary vocational and technical institutions program and Alaska Native education equity programs; establishment of a new American Indian Administrator Corps; funding for federal research on Indian education; a new dual-degree program for minority-serving institutions of higher education; increased funding for Office of Indian Education (OIE) programs, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Bureau of Indian Affairs school operations, tribal priority allocation, special programs and pooled overhead, and BIA school construction and repair. Legislation passed included changes to the "477" program; a Native languages bill; and H.R. 2, which reauthorized Title I and other programs assisting low-achieving students. National Indian Education Association comments on H.R. 2 and proposed amendments to P.L.95-561 and P.L.100-297 are offered. A partial listing of other education/Indian-related legislation and Republican and Democratic platform statements regarding Native Americans is provided. Five tables depict preliminary funding for selected Indian and Department of Education programs, funding for OIE and BIA, and historical funding of OIE. (TD)