OFFICE OF 

INSPECTOR GENERAL 

U.S.DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

CARES Act Flash Report 

Bureau of Indian Education Snapshot 

BIE Overview 

The BIE provides funding and 

oversight for 55 Bureauoperated schools and 132 

tribally controlled schools. Its 

mission is to provide 

education and tribal culture 

for students of all ages. The 

BIE serves in the capacity of a 

State Education Agency and 

administers and oversees the 

Department of Education’s 

programs in BIE-funded 

schools. The Department of 

Education transfers funds to 

educate and provide services 

to students attending BIEfunded elementary and 

secondary schools. 

Under the Elementary and 

Secondary Education Act, the 

Department of Education 

annually transfers funds to 

the BIE for eligible programs. 

The BIE also receives an 

annual grant from the 

Department of Education 

under Individuals with 

Disabilities Education Act. 

Tribal postsecondary schools 

are also funded by a 

combination of sources 

including the BIE, the 

Department of Education, and 

other Federal agencies. 

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus 

Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which 

provided the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) with $756 million 

to support the needs of DOI programs, bureaus, Indian Country, and 

the Insular Areas. 

As part of the CARES Act, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) 

received $69 million from the DOI to prevent, prepare for, and 

respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The BIE can use this funding for 

K – 12 schools, tribal colleges and universities, salaries, transportation, 

and IT. 

In addition to the CARES Act funding appropriated directly to the 

DOI, the CARES Act’s Education Stabilization Fund required the U.S. 

Department of Education to set aside $153.75 million for programs 

operated or funded by the BIE, in consultation with the Secretary of 

Interior. 

The CARES Act money will provide much-needed assistance for 

Indian schools. This report provides a snapshot of the BIE’s funding 

and planned expenditures. 

The BIE’s CARES Act Spend Plan 

According to the BIE’s spend plan, which covers the $69 million in 

Operation of Indian Education Programs and the $153.75 million from 

the Education Stabilization Fund, the BIE will distribute: 

• The $69 million in Operation of Indian Education Programs 

funding between K – 12 schools and dormitories (67 percent) 

and tribal colleges and universities (33 percent) 

• The $153.75 million from the Education Stabilization Fund 

between funded K – 12 schools and dormitories (70 percent), 

tribal colleges and universities (20 percent), and administrative 

withholdings (10 percent) 

The BIE’s goals for its CARES Act funding are distinct from yet 

complement those of the Department of Education’s Education 

Stabilization Fund. 

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The BIE uses a formula to 

determine how to distribute 

funds to schools. The formula 

incorporates the student 

count for the entire school 

year (called the Average Daily 

Membership or ADM) and a 

Weighted Student Unit (WSU) 

for each school. The WSU is 

calculated by weighting the 

ADM for each school to 

account for the school's 

requirements for special 

services such as basic 

education, language 

development, and gifted and 

talented programs as well as 

residential requirements. 

Five Funding Areas for the 

Operation of Indian 

Education Programs 

1. Immediate facilities,

maintenance,

transportation, and PPE

readiness

2. Student mental health or

safety needs while

returning to normal

operations

3. Immediate IT needs to

support instruction

4. Computer updates and

capacity building

5. Immediate training on new

learning platforms for staff

and students

Operation of Indian Education Programs 

The BIE’s $69 million in CARES Act funding will target immediate 

student needs related to mental health and safety, staff training, and IT 

investments. Specifically, this funding will equip individual schools 

with the necessary resources to provide customized solutions to 

reopening challenges in all locations. 

As of June 29, 2020, the BIE had obligated $49,725,156 

in CARES Act funding to K – 12 schools and 

tribal colleges and universities. 

The BIE plans to allocate CARES Act funds to Bureau-operated and

tribally controlled schools using a weighted formula to ensure that 

schools have flexibility to prioritize local school needs based on the 

level of immediate impact from COVID-19. See Figure 1 for a 

breakdown of obligated funds as of June 29, 2020. 

Figure 1: The BIE Obligated $49,725,156 for the 

Operation of Indian Education Programs 

(as of June 29, 2020) 

K-12 Schools, 

$30,232,346

39% 

61% 

Tribal Colleges 

& Universities, 

$19,492,810 

The BIE conducted comprehensive outreach and information gathering 

to determine the immediate IT challenges and needs for each school. 

In addition, the BIE established a detailed, school-by-school inventory 

of equipment and software needs and individual school-level IT spend 

plans. 

This funding will enable schools to address the need for physical 

facility modifications and transportation enhancements as students and 

communities prepare to return to daily busing, physical attendance in 

classrooms, and residential and dormitory operations. In addition, the 

funding will ensure that each school has an adequate level of personal 

protective equipment (PPE) for students and staff. 

The BIE will also be able to use this funding to deploy targeted mental 

health resources through contract services and address safety needs to 

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Top Five Recipients 

1. Navajo Technical College 

$2,534,000 

2. Navajo Nation Tribal 

Government 

$2,522,270 

3. Mississippi Band of Choctaw 

Central Schools 

$2,299,300 

4. Oglala Lakota College 

$1,994,460 

5. Santa Fe Indian School, Inc. 

$1,189,600 

The CARES Act authorized a 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance number (CFDA No. 

84.425) for the Department of 

Education’s Education 

Stabilization Fund. 

ensure students, teachers, and communities are prepared for the return 

to normal operations. In locations particularly affected by the 

pandemic, this funding may also be used to implement a 

comprehensive safety alert and phone notification system. 

In addition, this funding will target immediate hardware and software 

needs to facilitate student access to online learning resources. The 

funding may also be used to increase schools’ capacity to deliver 

immediate education instruction. The funding will also help two tribal 

colleges and universities make IT investments and critical IT staff. 

Further, the funding will be used to train teachers and other schoollevel staff on the newly established IT systems. 

Education Stabilization Funds 

The objective of the Education Stabilization Fund is to prevent, 

prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The Department 

of Education allocated funds from the Education Stabilization Fund to 

six major components, including the BIE. The types of assistance to be 

awarded are formula and project grants. 

The Department of Education and the BIE negotiated an interagency 

agreement to govern the terms of the $153.75 million in transferred 

funds. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget provided feedback 

to both agencies on the proposed agreement, and the Department of 

Education and the DOI signed the agreement on June 12, 2020. The 

agreement directs the BIE to make every effort to distribute the funds 

with 90 days of the transfer. 

The transfer of Education Stabilization Funds to the BIE began on 

June 15, 2020, and the total transferred amount became available to 

the BIE on June 17, 2020. 

The BIE plans to focus its 

spending of funds from the 

Education Stabilization Fund 

to schools for two areas: 

1. IT Systems Planning and 

Life-Cycle Sustainability 

to acquire IT equipment, 

software, platforms, and 

learning systems that are 

focused on schools’ long 

term needs 

2. Broadband and 

Connectivity to target 

systemic infrastructure 

investment needs and 

connectivity improvements 

The Department of Education initiated the transfer of funds to 

the BIE on June 15, 2020, meaning the BIE’s effective deadline 

for distributing the funds is September 15, 2020. 

The purpose of the funding from the Department of Education is to 

help schools plan for and address mid- to long-term challenges in 

providing continuity of instruction, such as gaps in IT infrastructure. 

With support from the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA’s) IT 

department, project management staff, and school-level leadership, the 

BIE will target IT learning systems that support the long-term 

sustainability of distance education. 

The BIE is required to use the $153.75 million from the Education 

Stabilization Fund as follows: 

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The BIE plans to allocate the 

administrative withholdings as 

follows: 

• $8 million for direct mental 

and behavioral health 

support 

• $5 million to upgrade the 

internet speed at five 

schools 

• $2.4 million to address 

unforeseen health and 

safety challenges over the 

2020 – 2021 school year 

The BIE’s first quarter 

report to the Department 

of Education will include: 

• A copy of the budget, 

including activities funded 

with the amounts BIE is 

reserving for system-wide 

activities 

• An internal controls plan 

that includes monitoring 

for all funds allocated to 

BIE-funded schools and 

tribal colleges and 

universities 

• Information on allocations 

to BIE-funded schools and 

program 

• No less than 90 percent must go to BIE-funded schools, 

including K – 12 schools, early childhood education programs, 

and tribal colleges and universities. 

• The BIE may use the remaining funds for emergency needs to 

address issues in responding to COVID-19. 

• The BIE may reserve up to half of 1 percent (approximately 

$768,750) of the total allocation for administrative costs. 

We reached out to the BIE and the Department of Education to gain an 

understanding of the fund transfer agreement. The Department of 

Education told us that it needed to reach an agreement with the BIE on 

several key issues, including details on how the funds will be spent in 

accordance with applicable Federal laws and how the BIE will meet 

the reporting requirements in Section 15011 of the CARES Act. 

Because each BIE-funded school faces unique COVID-19-related 

challenges, and pursuant to current Department of Education’s 

guidelines, specific amounts will vary by school. 

Reporting 

The BIE plans to assign financial analysts to each school and office to 

evaluate school-level spend plans and monitor the use of funds. We 

discuss reporting milestones required by Section 15011(b)(1) of the 

CARES Act in our Where’s the Money report dated June 15, 2020 

(Report No. 2020-FIN-046). The BIE is also required to submit reports 

to the DOI’s budget office. In addition, the recipients will need to 

submit financial reports (SF-425s) for the funds; however, most of the 

obligated funds are attached to existing agreements that already 

require SF-425s. The BIE will also provide copies of all reports on the 

use of Education Stabilization Funds to the Department of Education. 

In addition, the BIE will submit a first quarter report to the Department 

of Education with information on the budget, internal controls, and 

allocations as well as a third quarter report that includes any updates to 

the first quarter report. It will also provide a final report by December 

31, 2021, describing what activities these funds supported and the 

results of those activities. 

In our Lessons Learned for CARES Act Awards report dated May 2020 

(Report No. 2020-FIN-037), we discussed issues with the lack of 

monitoring and documentation, the use of funds for tribes, and 

deficient review of recipients’ performance and financial reports. 

Further, our June 2020 Lessons Learned for Indian Country report 

(Report No. 2020-FIN-045) noted that the key action for the BIE was 

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Local educational agencies 

may use the funding from 

the Education Stabilization 

Fund for activities such as: 

• Coordinating preparedness 

and response efforts with 

State, local, tribal, and 

territorial public health 

departments and other 

relevant agencies 

• Training on sanitation and 

minimizing the spread of 

infectious diseases 

• Purchasing supplies to 

sanitize and clean facilities 

• Planning for long-term 

closures to include 

providing meals to eligible 

students and technology 

for online learning 

• Purchasing educational 

technology (i.e., hardware, 

software, and 

connectivity) for all 

students 

• Providing mental health 

services and support 

• Planning and implementing 

activities related to 

summer learning and 

supplemental afterschool 

programs 

to ensure that proper internal controls are in place to monitor and track 

CARES Act funds. The BIE should be able to achieve this by 

assigning financial analysts to each school. 

Funding Timeline 

April 1 The BIE receives the apportionment of $69 

million from the Department of the 

Treasury. 

April 8 The Department of Education receives 

apportionment of the Education Stabilization 

Fund from the Department of the Treasury. 

April 16 The BIE issues the first grant award using 

the $69 million in CARES Act funds. 

April 28 & 30 The Department of Education and the BIE 

hold joint listening sessions to gather input 

from tribes and other stakeholders on use 

of the funds. 

April 30 The DOI approves the BIE’s initial spend 

plan for the $69 million. 

May 6 Written comments from the public are due 

to the BIE and the Department of 

Education. 

May 18 The Secretary of the Interior requests 

further information on the spend plan for 

the BIE’s $69 million and $154 million. The 

BIE collects additional information and 

redrafts the spend plan per the Secretary’s 

request. 

June 3 The DOI approves the BIE’s spend plan. 

June 12 The BIE and the Department of Education 

jointly sign a funding agreement that sets a 

September 15, 2020 deadline for 

distributing the funds. 

June 15 The Department of Education initiates a 

transfer of funds to the BIE. 

June 16 The Department of the Treasury transfers 

$154 million from the Department of 

Education to the BIE through a nonexpenditure transfer. 

June 17 The BIA prepares the FBMS to make the 

funds available. 

September 15 The BIE’s effective deadline for distributing 

the funds is 90 days after the June 15, 2020 

transfer. 

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