Department of Education

INDIAN EDUCATION

Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Request

CONTENTS

Appropriations Language ........................................................................................................E-1

Analysis of Language Provisions and Changes.......................................................................E-2

Appropriation, Adjustment, and Transfers ...............................................................................E-3

Authorizing Legislation............................................................................................................E-4

Appropriations History.............................................................................................................E-5

Summary of Request ..............................................................................................................E-6

Activities:

Grants to local educational agencies ..................................................................................E-9

Special programs for Indian children.................................................................................E-17

National activities..............................................................................................................E-22

State Table*

* State tables reflecting final 2015 allocations and 2016 and 2017 estimates are posted on the Department’s Web 

page at: http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/statetables/index.html
INDIAN EDUCATION

Appropriation s L angu age 

For expenses necessary to carry out, to the extent not otherwise provided, title [VII]VI, part 

A of the ESEA, [$143,939,000]$174,939,000, of which $67,993,000 shall be for subpart 2 of part 

A of title VI and $6,565,000 shall be for subpart 3 of part A of title VI.1 (Department of Education 

Appropriations Act, 2016.)

NOTE

Each language provision that is followed by a footnote reference is explained in the Analysis of Language 

Provisions and Changes document which follows the appropriation language.

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Analysis of Language Provisions and Changes

Language Provision Explanation

1... of which $67,993,000 shall be for subpart 2 

of part A of title VI and $6,565,000 shall be for 

subpart 3 of part A of title VI.

.

This language specifies the funding level for 

the Special Programs for Indian Children and 

National Activities programs.

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Appropriation, Adjustment, and Transfers

(dollars in thousands)

Appropriation/Adjustments/Transfers 2015 2016 2017

Discretionary:

Discretionar y Appropriation........................................................... $123,939 $143,939 $173,939

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Authorizing Legislation

(dollars in thousands)

Activity

2016

Authorized

footnote

2016

Estimate

footnote

2017

Authorized

footnote

2017

Request

Grants to local educational agencies (ESEA VI-A-1) 0

1

$100,381 $100,381 $100,381

Special programs for Indian children

(ESEA VI-A-2-6121 & 6122)

0

1

37,993 17,993 67,993

National activities (ESEA VI-A-3-6131) 0

1

 5,565 5,565 6,565

Total definite authorization 0 123,939

Total appropriation 143,939 174,939

Portion of request authorized 30,000

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2008; reauthorizing language is sought for FY 2016.

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Appropriations History

(dollars in thousands)

Year

Budget 

Estimate 

to Congress

House 

Allowance Foot

-

note

Senate 

Allowance Foot

-

note AppropriationFoot

-

note

2008 118,683 $124,000 $118,690 119,564

2009 119,564 125,0001 119,5641 122,282

2010 122,282 132,282 122,2822 127,282

2011 127,282 127,2823 129,2822 127,0274

2012 127,282 132,0275 128,0275 130,779

2013 130,779 130,9976 130,7796 123,939

2014 130,779 N/A7 130,3812 123,939

2015 123,939 N/A7 123,9398 123,939

2016 173,939 143,939 123,9399 143,939

2017 174,939

1 The levels for the House and Senate allowances reflect action on the regular annual 2009 appropriations bill, 

which proceeded in the 110th Congress only through the House Subcommittee and the Senate Committee. 2 The level for the Senate allowance reflects Committee action only. 3 The level for the House allowance reflects the House-passed full-year continuing resolution. 4

 The level for appropriation reflects the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 

(P.L. 112-10). 5

 The level for the House allowance reflects an introduced bill and the level for the Senate allowance reflects 

Senate Committee action only. 6

 The levels for the House and Senate allowances reflect action on the regular annual 2013 appropriations bill, 

which proceeded in the 112th Congress only through the House Subcommittee and the Senate Committee. 7

 The House allowance is shown as N/A because there was no Subcommittee action. 8

 The level for the Senate allowance reflects Senate Subcommittee action only. 9

 The levels for House and Senate allowance reflect action on the regular annual 2016 appropriations bill, which 

proceeded in the 114th Congress only through the House Committee and the Senate Committee.

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Summary of R equ

est

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEAR 2017 PRESIDENT'S BUDGET

(in thousands of dollars)

Click here for accessible version 

Amount Percent

Indian Education (ESEA VI)

1. Grants to local educational agencies (Part A-1) D 100,381 100,381 100,381 0 0.00%

2. Special programs for Indian children (Part A-2) D 17,993 37,993 67,993 30,000 78.96%

3. National activities (Part A-3) D 5,565 5,565 6,565 1,000 17.97%

Total D 123,939 143,939 174,939 31,000 21.54%

NOTES: D = discretionary program; M = mandatory program; FY = fiscal year 

Detail may not add to totals due to rounding. 

2017 President's Budget

2016 Compared to 2016 Appropriation

Account, Program and Activity Appropriation

Category 

Code

2015 

Appropriation

2017 President's 

Budget

E-6

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Summary of Request

The Indian Education programs in this account are authorized by Title VI, Part A of the 

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). These activities support a comprehensive 

approach to educational improvement and reform for Indian students, helping to ensure that 

they benefit from national education reforms and receive every opportunity to achieve to high 

standards. The activities include: (1) direct assistance to local educational agencies and 

Department of the Interior/Bureau of Indian Education schools for the education of Indian 

children, (2) special programs, including demonstrations and the training of Indian individuals as 

educators, and (3) research, evaluation, data collection, technical assistance, and other national 

activities. The programs promote the efforts of schools, local educational agencies, and Indian 

tribes and organizations to meet the unique educational and culturally related academic needs 

of their American Indian and Alaska Native students. 

The Indian Education programs are authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 (ESEA), which was reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA). 

The budget request reflects the program as authorized bye ESSA, which will be implemented in 

fiscal year 2017.

The Administration requests $174.9 million for fiscal year 2017, $31 million more than the 2016

appropriation. For the programs in this account, the request supports the primary goals of the 

ESEA: ensuring that all schools are held accountable for helping all children to achieve to high 

standards, improving teacher and school leader effectiveness through high-quality professional 

development and innovative teacher recruitment and retention practices, and using high-quality 

data to inform teaching and school reform activities. The request for Indian Education will help 

ensure that the reforms carried out under other ESEA programs benefit Indian students by 

providing funding to enable school districts to implement viable Indian education programs; 

continuing the special programs for Indian children and teacher preparation; and providing 

resources to address research, data, and technical assistance needs and objectives. The 

request would provide:

• $100.4 million for Grants to Local Educational Agencies to help them address the particular 

needs of Indian children enrolled in urban and rural schools.

• $68.0 million for Special Programs for Indian Children to make new Native Youth 

Community Project awards under Demonstration Grants and continuation awards under the 

Professional Development program.

• $6.6 million for National Activities to support research that will provide information on the 

educational needs and status of the Indian population and to provide technical assistance 

and support to educators serving that population. The National Activities request would also 

support new native language immersion grants, and would continue the grants made in 

fiscal year 2015 to tribal education agencies in support of their efforts to undertake ESEA 

administrative responsibilities pursuant to agreements they enter into with State educational 

agencies.

Although American Indian students’ educational outcomes have improved in recent years, they 

still lag behind in a number of key areas. Indian students are making progress and scoring 

higher than some of their peers from other ethnic groups on the National Assessment of 

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Summary of Request

Educational Progress, but an achievement gap remains between their performance and that of 

students in general. Although the number of Indian students enrolling in colleges and 

universities has more than doubled in the last three decades, the dropout rate for Indian high 

school students is above the overall national average. In addition, Indian students continue to 

be subject to significant risk factors that threaten their ability to improve their academic 

achievement and their general well-being. This population continues to need support from 

Federal programs that address their specific educational needs. 

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Activities:

Grants to local educational agencies

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title VI, Part A, Subpart 1) 

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2017 Authorization: $100,381

Budget Authority: 

2016 2017 Change 

$100,381 $100,381 0

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Title VI, Part A, Subpart 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as 

reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, authorizes formula grants that 

provide assistance to elementary and secondary schools for programs serving Indian students, 

including preschool children. Local educational agencies (LEAs), Department of the 

Interior/Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-operated schools, and other BIE-supported schools 

are eligible for grants to help meet the unique cultural, language, and educational needs of such 

students and ensure that all students meet challenging State academic standards. The 

program also makes awards to Indian tribes or Indian organizations whose members are 50 

percent or more of the children in the schools of an LEA that does not apply for funding. In 

fiscal year 2015, 24 tribes received such awards.

While allocations are determined by a statutory formula (described below), each applicant must 

annually develop and submit to the Department a comprehensive plan for meeting the needs of 

Indian children. Applicants must develop this plan in collaboration with a local committee 

comprised primarily of parents of Indian children and must include student performance goals, a 

description of professional development activities that the applicant will carry out, and an 

explanation of how it will assess students’ progress toward meeting its goals and will provide the 

results of this assessment to the parent committee and community. 

The program makes formula allocations only to LEAs or BIE schools in which the number of 

American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) children is at least 10 or constitutes at least 25 percent 

of total enrollment. LEAs in California, Alaska, and Oklahoma, and those located on or near 

reservations, are exempt from this requirement. The grant amount is determined by multiplying 

the number of Indian children in an LEA by the average per-pupil expenditure in the LEA’s State 

or 80 percent of the average per-pupil expenditure in the U.S., whichever is greater. Grants are 

then ratably reduced to fit within the available appropriation. In addition, the statute requires 

that each participating LEA receive at least $3,000. 

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Grants to local educational agencies

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2012......................................................... $105,921

2013........................................................... 100,381

2014........................................................... 100,381

2015........................................................... 100,381

2016........................................................... 100,381

FY 2017 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2017, the Administration requests $100.4 million for the Indian Education Grants 

to Local Educational Agencies program, the same as the fiscal year 2016 level and the level 

authorized by the ESSA. This funding would provide services to a disadvantaged population 

that is heavily affected by poverty and low educational attainment. The request would provide 

an estimated per-pupil payment of $215, based on the 2015 count of 467,784 eligible American

Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) elementary and secondary students nationwide. 

This program is the Department's largest vehicle to support local efforts to address the particular 

academic needs of AI/AN children in public schools. Grants supplement the regular school 

program, helping AI/AN children sharpen their academic skills and participate in enrichment 

programs that would otherwise be unavailable. Funds support such activities as after-school 

programs, tutoring, counseling, and dropout prevention. Approximately three-quarters of 

American Indian/Alaska Native students enrolled in public schools attend schools that receive 

funds from the program. In accordance with Executive Order 13592, the Department is 

participating in the Interagency Working Group on American Indian and Alaska Native 

Education with the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education. The Working Group 

is in the process of developing and implementing goals, benchmarks, and key activities for 

improving educational outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native students, in part 

through more effective use of Indian Education Grants to LEAs.

The AI/AN student population continues to be subject to significant risk factors that negatively 

affect their academic achievement and general well-being. AI/AN students are more likely to 

receive special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 

than students from any other racial/ethnic group. While IDEA served 8.5 percent of all U.S. 

children ages 3 to 21 in 2013, it served 13.3 percent of AI/ANs of the same age. Further, 

absenteeism rates for AI/AN students are higher than for other students, with 2009 data 

showing that 65 percent of AI/AN students reported at least one absence in the preceding 

month, compared to 55 percent for all students. Absenteeism translates into less time for 

classroom instruction and learning.

These risk factors help explain why data from the 2015 National Assessment of Education 

Progress (NAEP) reading and mathematics assessments consistently show that across subjects 

and grade levels, the achievement of AI/AN students has not improved since 2005, while the 

achievement of all other racial/ethnic groups has improved in all subjects and grade levels. For 

example, the average “scale score” for AI/AN students in 4th grade reading was 204 in 2005 and 

205 in 2015, and the 8th grade reading scale score was 249 in 2005 and 252 in 2015, reflecting 

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Grants to local educational agencies

a statistically insignificant change over a period in which all other groups had statistically 

significant increases. Similarly, 4th grade AI/AN students’ average mathematics scale scores 

did not show a statistically significant change between the 2005 and 2015 assessments, moving 

from 226 in 2005 to 227 in 2015. All other racial/ethnic groups showed statistically significant 

gains during the same period. 

AI/AN students also are less likely than those in other racial or ethnic groups to take advanced 

courses in high school or to attend schools offering advanced academic coursework. According 

to the latest available NCES report, “Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians 

and Alaska Natives: 2008,” 21 percent of AI/AN students graduating in 2004 had taken 

advanced English courses (compared to a national average of 33 percent), 22 percent had 

taken advanced mathematics courses (compared to 50 percent), and 48 percent had taken 

advanced science courses (compared to 68 percent). 

High school graduation rate and dropout rate data demonstrate the challenges facing AI/AN 

students, but also point to signs of progress that we must build on. While the AI/AN graduation 

rate is the lowest among all racial/ethnic groups at 69.6 percent in the 2013-2014 school year, 

that rate has increased from 65 percent in 2010-2011. The “status” dropout rate (which 

represents the proportion of non-institutionalized young people ages 16 through 24 who are out 

of school and who have not earned a high school credential) for AI/AN high school students was 

15 percent in 2006, compared to the overall national average of 10 percent. Still, AI/AN high 

school seniors had the lowest proportion of those expecting to go to college (79 percent) in 

2004, well below the national average (87 percent). And while the long-term trend in AI/AN 

student enrollment in postsecondary education is positive, it dropped from 2009 to 2012 and 

remains well below the rate for all students.

The data described above collectively demonstrate the importance of providing continued 

supplemental funding to LEAs serving AI/AN students, as well as Federal, State, and local 

efforts to use that funding more effectively to improve outcomes for these students.

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Grants to local educational agencies

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES 

(dollars in thousands)

Output Measures 2015 2016 2017

Number of awards

Number to LEAs 1,130 1,130 1,130

Number to Tribes 24 24 24

Number to BIE- grant/contract schools 81 81 81

Number to BIE- operated schools 48 48 48

Total Number of awards 1,283 1,283 1,283

Distribution of funds

Distribution LEAs $92,767 $92,767 $92,767

Distribution Tribes 1,151 1,151 1,151

Distribution BIE- grant/contract schools 4,244 4,244 4,244

Distribution BIE- operated schools 2,219 2,219 2,219

Distribution Total 100,381 100,381 100,381

Number of eligible students

Students i n LEAs 428,987 428,987 428,987

Students i n Tribes 5,440 5,440 5,440

Students i n BIE- grant/contract schools 21,399 21,399 21,399

Students i n BIE- operated schools 11,958 11,958 11,958

Total number of students 467,784 467,784 467,784

Range of awards (whole dollars)

Highest award $3,144,787 $3,144,787 $3,144,787

Lowest awar d 4,000 4,000 4,000

Average allocation 78,213 78,213 78,213

Average payment per eligible 

student 215 215 215

_________________

NOTE: Appropriations language for fiscal years 2015 and 2016 authorized the Department to pool evaluation 

funds reserved under section 9601 of the ESEA and use those pooled funds to evaluate any ESEA program. Similar 

authority was included in the ESEA as reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (section 8601) and 

would provide the same flexibility in fiscal year 2017. While the Department did not reserve funds from the Indian 

Education Grants to LEAs program under this authority in fiscal year 2015, it may reserve funds for ESEA evaluation 

activities in fiscal years 2016 and 2017.

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION 

Performance Measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on 

the cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in fiscal 

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Grants to local educational agencies

year 2017 and future years, as well as the resources and efforts invested by those served by 

this program. 

The current performance indicators for this program use data from the National Assessment of 

Education Progress (NAEP) and State assessments to track Indian students’ educational status. 

Since the 2005 NAEP, the Department has oversampled AI/AN students in the NAEP 4th-grade 

and 8th-grade reading and math assessments in order to generate reliable, national-level data 

on AI/AN students’ performance. After the 2011 assessment, the Department began 

oversampling AI/AN students on NAEP only every other cycle. AI/AN students were 

oversampled for the 2015 assessment and will next be oversampled in 2019.. 

Goal: To help American Indian and Alaska Native children achieve to the same 

challenging standards expected of all students by supporting access to programs that 

meet their unique educational and culturally related academic needs.

Objective: American Indian and Alaska Native students served by LEAs receiving Indian 

education formula grants will progress at rates similar to those for all students in achievement to 

standards, promotion, and graduation.

Measure: The percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native students in grade 4 who score 

at or above the basic level in reading on NAEP.

Year Target Actual – AI/AN Actual – All Students

2009 52% 52% 67%

2011 54 49 67

2013 56 51 68

2015 58 52 69

2017 60

Measure: The percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native students in grade 8 who score 

at or above the basic level in reading on NAEP.

Year Target Actual – AI/AN Actual – All Students

2009 63% 63% 75%

2011 65 64 76

2013 67 62 78

2015 69 63 76

2017 71

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Grants to local educational agencies

Measure: The percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native students in grade 4 who score 

at or above the basic level in math on NAEP.

Year Target Actual – AI/AN Actual – All Students

2009 72% 68% 82%

2011 74 68 82

2013 76 68 83

2015 78 69 82

2017 80

Measure: The percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native students in grade 8 who score 

at or above the basic level in math on NAEP.

Year Target Actual – AI/AN Actual – All Students

2009 57% 57% 73%

2011 59 55 73

2013 61 59 74

2015 63 57 71

2017 65

Additional information: The percentage of AI/AN students meeting or exceeding performance 

standards established by the National Assessment of Educational Progress is an indicator of the 

success of efforts (including those funded by this program) to raise the population’s educational 

achievement. In 2015, the percentage of AI/AN 4th-grade students scoring at or above the basic 

level increased in reading and showed no change in math when compared to 2011. Over the 

same period, 4th-grade scores for all students in reading and math increased slightly. From 

2011 to 2015, there were slight increases for AI/AN 8th-graders and all students in 8th-grade in 

reading. Over the same period, math scores for AI/AN 8th-graders decreased slightly and math 

scores for all students increased slightly. 

Measure: The percentage of Indian students in grades 3-8 meeting State performance 

standards by scoring at the proficient or the advanced levels in reading on State assessments.

Year Target Actual – AI/AN Actual – All Students

2012 89% 58.4% 70.3%

2013 95 58.1 65.7

2014 100

2015 100

2016 100

2017 100

Measure: The percentage of Indian students in grades 3-8 meeting State performance 

standards by scoring at the proficient or the advanced levels in mathematics on State 

assessments.

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Grants to local educational agencies

Year Target Actual – AI/AN Actual – All Students

2012 89% 53.2% 68.2%

2013 95 52.1 62.9

2014 100

2015 100

2016 100

2017 100

Additional information: In 2006, the Department added annual performance indicators that 

focus on proficiency on State assessments aligned to the State academic standards used to 

guide instruction in schools. In addition, the State assessments provide the basis for school and 

LEA accountability under ESEA Title I. The Department established a baseline in 2004 and 

targets for reaching 100 percent proficiency by 2014, the ESEA objective. From 2008 through 

2013, reading and mathematics proficiency among AI/AN students were both below the 

respective targets. Data for 2014 will be available in spring 2016. Performance measures 

based on proficiency rates will be changed in future years based on the reauthorized ESEA. 

Measure: The difference between the percentage of Indian students in grades 3-8 scoring at the 

proficient or advanced levels in reading on State assessments and the percentage of all students 

scoring at those levels.

Year Target Actual

2012 2.7% 5.0%

2013 1.3 11.6

2014 0.0

2015 0.0

2016 0.0

2017 0.0

Measure: The difference between the percentage of Indian students in grades 3-8 scoring at the 

proficient or advanced levels in mathematics on State assessments and the percentage of all 

students scoring at those levels.

Year Target Actual

2012 2.9% 11.0%

2013 1.4 12.9

2014 0.0

2015 0.0

2016 0.0

2017 0.0

Additional information: The Department established indicators to measure the achievement 

gap between AI/AN students’ performance and all students’ performance on State assessments 

in reading and math. The targets reflect the ESEA goal of eliminating the achievement gap 

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Grants to local educational agencies

between AI/AN students and all students by 2014. The Department expects to have 2014 data 

in spring 2016.

Measure: Percentage of Indian students who graduate from high school.

Year Target Actual

2012 86.2% 66.9%

2013 86.2 69.0

2014 86.2

2015 86.2

2016 86.2

2017 86.2

Additional information: The final effectiveness measure the Department has established for 

this program is the percentage of Indian students who graduate from high school. This measure 

is calculated as the simple average among the States, by dividing the sum of the State AI/AN 

graduation rates reported on their Consolidated State Performance Reports (CSPR) by the 

number of States reporting AI/AN graduation rates. Each State’s rate should be reported on the 

CSPR as the number of students who graduate from public high school with a regular diploma 

(not including a GED or any other diploma not fully aligned with the State's academic standards) 

in the standard number of years divided by the number of students who began high school that 

number of years ago, or by an alternative method developed by the State and approved by the 

Secretary that avoids counting dropouts as transfers. However, since States report 

percentages rather than the number of students graduating and the size of the cohort, the 

Department’s calculation as a simple average of the State percentages is not an accurate 

measure of the actual Indian graduation rate. Data for 2014 will be available in spring 2016.

Efficiency Measure

Measure: The percentage of funds used by grantees prior to award close-out.

Year Target Actual

2012 100.0% 100.0%

2013 100.0 95.0

2014 100.0 97.4

2015 100.0

2016 100.0

2017 100.0

Additional information: The proportion of program funds used by grantees has fluctuated in 

recent years. However, grantees met the target in 2012 and 2013. Since the timing of closeout can vary even among a single fiscal year’s grantees, this measure is calculated as the 

proportion of the program appropriation that has been paid to grantees just prior to the 

cancellation of the appropriation. Therefore, data for 2012 correspond to fiscal year 2007

grants. Data for 2015, corresponding to fiscal year 2010 grants, will be available in spring 2016.

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Special programs for Indian children

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title VI, Part A, Subpart 2) 

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2017 Authorization: $17,993

Budget Authority: 

2016 2017 Change 

$37,993 $67,993 +$30,000

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as reauthorized by the 

Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), authorizes discretionary programs designed to 

improve the quality of education for Indian students and to prepare and train Indians to serve as 

teachers and school administrators. Funds are awarded competitively to support the following 

programs:

• Improvement of Educational Opportunities for Indian Children and Youth (Section 6121) 

(Demonstration Grants). Under this program, the Department makes discretionary 

grants to State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), Indian 

tribes and organizations, federally supported elementary or secondary schools for Indian 

students, and Indian institutions (including Indian institutions of higher education), or a 

consortium of such institutions, to improve Indian student achievement. The statute 

authorizes demonstration grants in such areas as innovative programs, remedial instruction, 

bilingual and bicultural programs, health and nutrition services, programs to increase high 

school graduation rates for Indian children and youth, guidance and counseling, early 

childhood and kindergarten programs, partnership projects between LEAs and institutions of 

higher education (IHEs), partnership projects between schools and local businesses, 

secondary-to-postsecondary education transition programs, school-to-work programs, and 

family literacy services. From 2009 to 2015, the Department funded Demonstration Grant 

projects in the areas of early childhood and secondary-to-postsecondary-education 

transition. In 2015, the Department began funding Native Youth Community Projects to 

support community-driven strategies to improve college- and career-readiness of Native 

youth.

• Professional Development (Section 6122). Under this program, the Department makes 

discretionary grants to (1) IHEs, or (2) SEAs, LEAs, Indian tribes and organizations, and 

Department of the Interior-funded schools, in consortium with IHEs, to increase the number 

of Indian individuals qualified in teaching, school administration, and other education 

professions, and to improve the skills of those individuals. Individuals receiving training 

under this program are required to secure employment in a field related to their education 

and benefiting Indians, or to pay back the amount of the assistance. Awards focus on preservice teacher and pre-service administrator training.

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Special programs for Indian children

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2012...........................................................$18,986

2013.............................................................17,993

2014.............................................................17,993

2015.............................................................17,993

2016.............................................................37,993

FY 2017 BUDGET REQUEST

The Administration’s 2017 Budget Request includes $68.0 million for Special Programs for 

Indian Children, $30 million more than the 2016 level. The request includes appropriations 

language overriding the authorized funding level in ESSA for this program. The additional 

funding would support an expansion of the Native Youth Community Projects (NYCP), first 

funded in fiscal year 2015 and increased in 2016, as an integral part of the Administration’s 

overall efforts through “Generation Indigenous” to support improved educational and life 

opportunities for Native youth. The President’s “Generation Indigenous” initiative takes a 

comprehensive, culturally appropriate approach to help improve the lives and opportunities for 

Native youth. Through new and increased investments at multiple agencies, the request would 

support Federal agencies’ collaborative work with tribes to implement education reforms and 

address issues facing Native youth.

NYCP is designed to support community-driven strategies to improve college- and careerreadiness of Native youth by focusing on the unique educational needs of American Indian and 

Alaska Native (AI/AN) children. The additional funds would help address longstanding, unmet 

needs demonstrated in part by the educational outcome data described elsewhere in this 

account under Indian Education Grants to LEAs. In the fiscal year 2015 competition, the 

Department received 39 eligible applications and was only able to make awards to 12 grantees. 

While the program received a significant increase in fiscal year 2016, the additional funds 

requested for 2017 would support increased grant sizes needed to fund more comprehensive 

interventions involving a broader continuum of services in more high-need AI/AN communities. 

For fiscal year 2017, the Department would use about $53.5 million for new and continuing 

NYCP awards under the Demonstration Grants authority. The Department launched this 

initiative in fiscal year 2015 by making 12 relatively small (e.g., $500,000) new NYCP awards to 

eligible entities to support culturally relevant coordinated strategies that are informed by 

evidence and data and address the greatest in- and out-of-school barriers to student collegeand career-readiness. In fiscal year 2016, the Department plans to make larger awards to 

support more comprehensive services in an estimated 26 additional communities. The 

Department would use funds from the National Activities program in the Indian Education 

account to support technical assistance to build the capacity of NYCP grantees to implement 

their projects. Tribes, during Department-led consultations on NYCP in 2014, identified the 

need for culturally-relevant technical assistance to help with things like conducting needs 

assessments, collecting and analyzing data, and identifying best practices and additional 

resources.

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Special programs for Indian children

For the Professional Development program, the Department would use about $10.6 million for 

new and continuation awards to IHEs and other eligible entities to effectively train Indian 

students as teachers and school administrators to work in schools with concentrations of Indian 

children and youth. Grants support teacher training programs at IHEs, including tribal colleges 

and universities, and support efforts to recruit students that are likely to remain in teaching and 

administration positions in schools with a high proportion of Indian students, and provide 

comprehensive services, including support for tuition and living expenses for the students as 

well as program development and operational costs for the institutions.

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES 

(dollars in thousands)

Output Measures 2015 2016 2017

Demonstration Grants

NYCP Grants

Demonstr ati on Grants – NYC P -Funding for new awards $3,015 $17,425 $30,413

Demonstr ati on Grants – NYC P -Funding for continuation 

awards 0 5,465 23,039

Total 3,015 22,890 53,452

Demonstr ati on Grants – NYC P -Number of new awards 12 26 30

Demonstr ati on Grants – NYC P -Number of continuation 

awards 0 12 38

Other Demonstration Grants

Demonstr ati on Grants Funding for new awards 0 0 0

Demonstr ati on Grants Funding for continuing 

awards $10,076 $6,512 $3,537

Total: Demonstration 10,076 6,512 3,537

Demonstr ati on Grants Number of new awards 0 0 0

Demonstr ati on Grants Number of continuing 

awards 35 23 17

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Special programs for Indian children

Output Measures 2015 2016 2017

Professional Development

Professi onal D evelopment Funding for new awards: Professional Devel opment 0 $3,665 $6,000

Professi onal D evelopment Funding for continuation 

awards: Professi onal D evelopment $4,722 1,909 4,634

Total: Professional Devel opment 4,722 5,061 10,634

Professi onal D evelopment Number of new awards: Professional Devel opment 0 11 17

Professi onal D evelopment Number of continuation 

awards: Professi onal D evelopment 21 12 23

Peer Review of new award 

applications $180 $380 $370

NOTES: Appropriations language for fiscal years 2015 and 2016 authorized the Department to pool evaluation 

funds reserved under section 9601 of the ESEA and use those pooled funds to evaluate any ESEA program. Similar 

authority was included in the ESEA as reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (section 8601) and 

would provide the same flexibility in fiscal year 2017. While the Department did not reserve funds from the Special 

programs for Indian children program under this authority in fiscal year 2015, it may reserve funds for ESEA 

evaluation activities in fiscal years 2016 and 2017.

Approximately $1.2 million from the Fund for the Improvement of Education programs of national significance in 

the Innovation and Improvement account was used to support NYCP grants in fiscal year 2015.

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION 

Performance Measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on 

the cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in fiscal 

year 2017 and future years, as well as the resources and efforts invested by those served by 

this program.

For the Demonstration Grants, the indicators for early childhood projects measure the 

percentage of preschool students who gain school readiness skills as evidenced by pre- and 

post-test scores on an approved assessment. Indicators for the secondary-to-postsecondaryeducation transition projects measure the percentage of participating AI/AN students 

successfully completing at least 3 years of challenging core courses (English, mathematics, 

science, and social studies) by the end of their fourth year in high school, and the percentage of 

students who graduate with their incoming 9th grade class. For the 2009 cohort of grantees, 

71 percent of 3- and 4-year-old AI/AN children made language and communication development 

gains, 62 percent made gains on assessments of cognitive skills and conceptual knowledge, 

and 55 percent made gains on assessments of social development. On the secondary-topostsecondary indicators, 61 percent of participating AI/AN students successfully completed at 

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INDIAN EDUCATION

Special programs for Indian children

least 3 years of challenging core courses and 77 percent graduated with their incoming 9th

grade class. For the 2010 cohort, 82 percent of 3- and 4-year-old AI/AN children made 

language and communication development gains, 80 percent made gains on assessments of 

cognitive skills and conceptual knowledge, and 75 percent made gains on assessments of 

social development. On the secondary-to-postsecondary indicators, 67 percent of participating 

AI/AN students successfully completed at least 3 years of challenging core courses and 75

percent graduated with their incoming 9th grade class.

The indicators for the Professional Development Grants measure (1) the percentage of program 

participants who become school administrators and teachers, respectively, in local educational 

agencies (LEAs) with 5 percent or more Native American students, (2) the percentage of 

Teacher Corps participants who receive full State licensure, and (3) the percentage of program 

participants who complete their service requirement on schedule. New efficiency measures will 

track the cost per individual who successfully completes an administrator or teacher preparation 

program. For the 2010 cohort, 13 percent of program participants became school administrators 

and 27 percent became teachers in LEAs with 5 percent or more Native American Students. 

Twenty-five percent of Teacher Corps participants received full State licensure, and 28 percent 

of participants completed their service requirement on schedule. The cost per individual who 

successfully completed a teacher preparation program was $61,020. Because only two 

grantees funded students in administrator preparation programs, the Department was not able 

to calculate the cost per individual for administrator preparation programs.

The Department developed the following performance measures for the NYCP program: (1) the 

percentage of the annual measurable objectives, as described in the application, that are met by 

grantees; and (2) the percentage of grantees that report a significant increase in community 

collaborative efforts that promote college- and career-readiness of Indian children. Initial data 

for these measures will be available for the first (FY 2015) cohort of NYCP grantees in 2016.

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INDIAN EDUCATION

National activities

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title VI, Part A, Subpart 3) 

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2017 Authorization: $5,656

Budget Authority: 

2016 2017 Change 

$5,565 $6,565 +1,000

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as reauthorized by the Every 

Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), authorizes Indian Education National Activities that 

support three activities: (1) research, evaluation, and data collection to provide information on 

the educational status of the Indian population and on the effectiveness of Indian Student 

Education programs; (2) grants to support native language immersion schools and programs; 

and (3) grants to tribes for education administrative planning, development, and coordination. 

These activities help the Department to improve the national knowledge base on the 

educational status and needs of Indians, to identify and disseminate information on best 

practices for serving this population, help maintain, preserve, and restore Native languages and 

cultural traditions, and promote tribal self-determination in education as well as the coordination 

and cooperation between tribes and State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational 

agencies (LEAs).

The Department has used program funds to augment broader research and statistical activities 

to ensure that they include significant coverage of the Indian population and provide data that 

can be used to track the educational progress of Indians over time and to compare the status of 

Indians with that of other groups. For example, the Department has gathered and disseminated 

data on the academic achievement, enrollment, graduation rates, and English-speaking ability 

of Indian students; characteristics of teachers and principals serving those students; and other 

areas of concern and interest. This research program also responds to Executive Order 13592, 

on American Indian and Alaska Native Educational Opportunities and Strengthening Tribal 

Colleges and Universities, which requires the Secretary of Education to study and collect 

information on the education of American Indian and Alaska Native students. 

The ESSA established two new authorities within National Activities. The first formally 

authorizes a program for tribal education agencies (TEAs) to build their capacity in 

administering education programs and promote increased collaboration with SEAs. In 2012, the 

Department made pilot awards to four TEAs to work with SEAs to assume certain SEA 

responsibilities for the administration of ESEA programs and made additional new awards in 

fiscal year 2015. The second new authority establishes a grant program to enable grantees to 

develop and maintain, or improve and expand, programs that supports schools using native 

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INDIAN EDUCATION

National Activities

language as the primary languages of instruction. The Department will make Native language 

immersion grants beginning in fiscal year 2017.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2012................................ ............................$5,872

2013................................ ..............................5,565

2014................................ ..............................5,565

2015................................ ..............................5,565

2016................................ ..............................6,565

FY 2017 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2017, the Administration requests $6.6 million for Indian Education National 

Activities, $1 million more than the 2016 level. The request includes appropriations language 

overriding the authorized funding level for this program. 

Historically, the Department has used National Activities funds for three purposes aimed at 

supporting efforts to improve American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) student academic 

achievement: (1) research and data collection on the educational status of the Indian 

population and on the effectiveness of Indian student education programs, including the 

identification of promising interventions in the field; (2) technical assistance to entities 

implementing programs for Indian students; and (3) logistical support for Department-sponsored 

tribal consultations and meetings and for improved implementation of Indian student education 

programs.

With the additional authorities under the reauthorized ESEA, the Department would use fiscal 

year 2017 funds for the following activities:

• $1.8 million for grants to tribal educational agencies (TEAs). The fiscal year 2012 

Appropriations Act included funding for a pilot program, known as the State-Tribal 

Education Partnership (STEP) program, which makes grants to TEAs to build their capacity 

by entering into agreements to assume certain SEA responsibilities for the administration of 

ESEA programs. The Department would use fiscal year 2017 funds to continue a second 

cohort of STEP awards first funded in fiscal year 2015. 

• $1.2 million for a new Native American and Alaska Native Language Immersion program to 

maintain and promote the use of Native languages, support Native language education and 

development, and provide professional development for teachers. These grants will 

support efforts to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for all AI/AN students, 

and to support AI/AN students’ efforts to learn their Native languages and maintain and 

revitalize their Native cultures.

• $1.3 million for the sixth National Indian Education Study (NIES), which has two 

components: (1) oversampling American Indian and Alaska Native students in the National 

Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), and (2) a survey to collect information on the 

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INDIAN EDUCATION

National Activities

educational experiences of American Indian/Alaska Native students and the role of Indian 

culture in their education. As discussed under the Grants to Local Educational Agencies 

(LEAs) program, this oversampling provides the Department and the public with 

comprehensive and timely national and State-level information on American Indian/Alaska 

Native student achievement in reading and mathematics. The 2017 budget request would 

support the 2019 administration of the NAEP reading and mathematics assessments, as 

well as the educational experiences survey. Since 2011 the Department has conducted the 

NIES, which includes the NAEP oversampling, every other biennial NAEP cycle (rather 

than for each cycle) in order to devote more Indian Education National Activities resources 

to other high-priority areas, such as research on promising practices and technical 

assistance.

The Department released two reports as the culmination of the 2011 NIES in July 2012; the 

full report is available at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nies/.

• $1.2 million for technical assistance for State educational agencies (SEAs), LEAs, other 

entities eligible for the Department’s programs, including tribal educational agencies. SEAs 

and LEAs do not always have the experience necessary to address the needs of AI/AN 

students or incorporate Indian culture into classroom instruction. According to the 2011 

NIES, only one third of AI/AN 8th-graders had reading or language arts teachers who 

reported that they integrated Indian culture into assignments once a month or more. 

Technical assistance activities might include helping SEAs and LEAs better understand the 

issues and challenges facing Indian students and integrate elements of native culture into 

curriculum, as well as assistance on identifying and incorporating promising practices into 

the education of Indian students. Fiscal year 2017 funds will also be used to support 

technical assistance activities for NYCP and STEP grantees.

• $1.0 million for logistical support for the Department to continue tribal consultations and 

forums to help inform the Department’s policies and decision-making process. Previous 

experience suggests that these consultations can help improve education for AI/AN 

students, and the Department is committed to continuing tribal consultation and 

strengthening the government-to-government relationship between the United States and 

Indian tribes.

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INDIAN EDUCATION

National Activities

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES 

(dollars in thousands)

Output Measures 2015 2016 2017

Grants to tribal education 

agencies

Grants to tribal education agenci es New awards $1,950 0 0

Grants to tribal education agenci es Continuation awards 0 $1,800 $1,800

Native language immersion 

grants

0 0 1,194

National Indian Education 

Study

1,300 1,300 1,300

Other research 0 0 0

Technical assistance 1,274 1,200 1,200

Technical and logistical 

support

991 1,265 952

Peer review of new award 

applications

50 0 119

NOTE: Appropriations language for fiscal years 2015 and 2016 authorized the Department to pool evaluation 

funds reserved under section 9601 of the ESEA and use those pooled funds to evaluate any ESEA program. Similar 

authority was included in the ESEA as reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (section 8601) and 

would provide the same flexibility in fiscal year 2017. While the Department did not reserve funds from the Indian 

Education National Activities program under this authority in fiscal year 2015, it may reserve funds for ESEA 

evaluation activities in fiscal years 2016 and 2017.

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION 

Performance Measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on 

the cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in fiscal 

year 2017 and future years, as well as the resources and efforts invested by those served by 

this program. 

The Department established two performance measures for the STEP program to assess 

grantees’ progress in implementing collaborative agreements with SEAs: (1) the number of 

funded projects for which the TEA assumes State-level functions by the beginning of the second 

grant period; and (2) the number of funded projects that, at the end of the project period, report 

that the project has resulted in creation of an arrangement under which the TEA will continue to 

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National Activities

be responsible for the State-level functions delineated in its TEA-SEA agreement after Federal 

funding ends. At the beginning of the second grant period, all four STEP pilot grantees, the 

Chickasaw Nation (Oklahoma), the Navajo Nation (New Mexico), the Nez Perce Tribe (Idaho), 

and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (Oregon) had assumed at least 

one State-level function, with two grantees assuming two functions, for a total of six State-level 

functions. Information on the second performance measure will be available later in 2016 once 

grantees complete their projects under the terms of a 1-year, no-cost extension.

The Department will develop new performance measures for the Native language immersion 

grants.

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State Table

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