Secretary of Education Spellings Responds to Congressional Concerns Regarding Implementation of Indian Education Formula Grants Part II

(This edition of Big River Man News is a continuation of yesterday’s analysis of Title VII in view of Secretary Spellings policy view regarding the expenditure of Title VII formula grant funds for Native language and culture)

In reliance of the broad purpose of Title VII section 7101, there are two educational purposes “ensuring that programs that serve Indian children are of the highest quality and provide for not only the basic elementary and secondary educational needs, but also the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of these children.” The transitional phrase “but also” is important in that the government’s purposes for Indian education in fulfilling its trustee relationship with American Indians is done in two fundamental ways including the assurance that educational programs provide directly for the unique educational and culturally related needs of Indian children.

The formula grant, the subject of the secretary’s commentary is comprehensive in scope in terms of what programs can be offered through funds generated by the formula and secondly it also intends to be the statutory vehicle that focuses reform of schools as it affects Indian students uniquely through the required comprehensive program design Section 7114 required of schools that engages other federal efforts in NCLB and state resources besides the formula grant to meet the comprehensive needs of Indian students.

Section 7114 (b) requires a description of a comprehensive program for meeting the needs of Indian children served by the local educational agency, including the language and cultural needs of the children That plan must first describe how the comprehensive program will offer programs and activities to meet the culturally related academic needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students (section 7114 (b) (1); Given the plain meaning of the formula grant there must be programs and activities in an LEA that meet the culturally related academic needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students including the language and cultural needs of the children.

Outside of this distinct requirement for meeting the language and culture needs of Indian students, there must also be a description how the comprehensive plan is consistent with the State and local plans submitted under other provisions of this Act; and includes academic content and student academic achievement goals for such children, and benchmarks for attaining such goals, that are based on the challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards adopted under Title I for all children. It must explain how Federal, State, and local programs, especially programs carried out under Title I, will meet the needs of such students; the professional development opportunities that will be provided, as needed, to ensure that teachers and other school professionals who are new to the Indian community are prepared to work with Indian children; and that all teachers who will be involved in programs assisted under the formula grant have been properly trained to carry out such programs and describes how the local educational agency will periodically assess the progress of all Indian children enrolled in the schools of the local educational agency, including Indian children who do not participate in programs assisted under this subpart, in meeting the goals described in paragraph. Lastly the plan must demonstrate how funds made available under the formula grant will be used.

Cultural activities, enrichment efforts and Native language courses along with many other federal and locally supported efforts which are uniquely prioritized to be meet the unique language and cultural needs and the culturally related academic needs of Indian students do not necessarily need to have a standards basis or assessment to be offered American Indian Students. What the statute requires is that there is a specific identified plan for how Native students will accomplish state academic content standards and will have their unique language and cultural needs met. This is a critical distinction because it distinguishes the requirement of having a plan to meet state standards from developing state standards and assessments of Native language and culture; it appears that DOE thinks there is a requirement for the latter which is incorrect.

By reviewing the list of activities that may be offered through funds specifically generated through the formula grant there are some that specifically reference state academic standards some that do not. These examples of allowable activities are of four types. Those that specially reference an association with State academic standards, those that could reasonably be considered as enabling the accomplishment of state standards, cultural enrichment programs and activities and the expansion of educational opportunities.

The provision for activities that incorporate American Indian and Alaska Native specific curriculum content, consistent with State standards, into the curriculum used by the local educational agency is typically related to curriculum development efforts to incorporate American Indian specific content into the curriculum. Such curriculum development efforts can be funded by a formula grant. It does not mean that a course that offers American Indian specific content for credit or not for credit can not be funded be Title VII funds. It is not allowed under the statute to use the funds to supplant district or other federal efforts so it would be unreasonable to use Title VII funds to accomplish directly state content standards that presumably would in the best of worlds have Indian related content included in what is required of all children.

Even though the suggested list of allowable activities includes activities enabling the accomplishment of State standards these are typically accomplished through Title I and since the statute requires that LEAs receiving a formula grant must explain how Federal, State, and local programs, especially programs carried out under Title I, will meet the needs of American Indian student the reliance on Title VII formula grant funds to accomplish essentially Title I purposes is inappropriate given the very small amount of funds available per student through Title VII, the mandate to meet language and cultural needs and efforts to eliminate and or restrict such existing efforts by the Office of Indian Education.

The list of allowable activities includes specific activities that are cultural enrichment programs and activities. It is specifically allowable to “incorporate appropriately qualified tribal elders and seniors” in offering such activities. These efforts and others allowable under Title VII such as those that expand opportunity do not have a strict association with state standards or assessment systems even though it is reasonable to assume they do have such an association even if indirect.

Though there is a broad purpose of subpart 1 to support local educational agencies in their efforts to reform elementary school and secondary school programs that serve Indian students in order to ensure that such programs are based on challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards that are used for all students, the intent is to make sure that there is a comprehensive approach involving all federal and local efforts to ensure Indian students are included. It does not mean that all such efforts to accomplish this purpose must be based upon state standards.

The second aspect of the broad purpose statement in Subpart 1 that efforts are designed to assist Indian students in meeting those state academic content and student academic achievement standards does not mean that the efforts clearly and specifically allowable within Subpart 1 do not in fact allow Indian students to accomplish those standards. The Office of Indian Education can not say an allowable activity within the body of a section of statute does not do what the purpose of the statute intends by definition.

The key point the Secretary is attempting to make is that you can not offer Native language and culture unless there are state standards and state assessments of Native language and culture. This is not correct.

Gichiziibiwinini © 2006-2007-David Beaulieu All Rights Reserved to Big River Man News-American Indian Education