I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 66 

To expand opportunity for Native American children through additional 

options in education, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2023 

Mr. BIGGS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To expand opportunity for Native American children through 

additional options in education, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native American Edu5 cation Opportunity Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIVE AMERICAN EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY PRO7 GRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of title XI of the Edu9 cation Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2000 et seq.) is 

10 amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating section 1141 as section 

2 1142; and 

3 (2) by inserting after section 1140 the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 1141. FUNDING OF TRIBAL-BASED EDUCATION SAV6 INGS ACCOUNT PROGRAMS. 

7 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DISBURSEMENTS.—At the request of 

9 Tribes, the Secretary of Education and the Sec10 retary of the Interior shall, for the 2023–2024 

11 school year and each subsequent school year, dis12 burse amounts transferred under section 2101(a)(2) 

13 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

14 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6611(a)(2)) for the fiscal year to 

15 such Tribes that administer education savings ac16 count programs to enable the Tribes to award grants 

17 to education savings accounts for ESA eligible stu18 dents for such school year, in accordance with sub19 section (b). 

20 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply 

21 with respect to ESA eligible students who have sub22 mitted their application for participation under this 

23 section to the Tribe of which the student is an en24 rolled member on or after January 1, 2023. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ACCOUNT ADMINISTRATION.—A Tribe may 

2 enter into an agreement with a nonprofit entity for 

3 the administration of the accounts created through 

4 the Tribe’s education savings account program. 

5 ‘‘(4) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—Funds dis6 bursed to a Tribe under this section shall be used 

7 to deposit $8,000 each year in the Tribal education 

8 savings accounts of ESA eligible students who have 

9 not yet attained a regular high school diploma or its 

10 recognized equivalent. 

11 ‘‘(5) PERMISSIBLE USE OF FUNDS.—Funds dis12 bursed to a Tribe under this section may be used 

13 for— 

14 ‘‘(A) private tutoring, including academic, 

15 Native language, or cultural tutoring; 

16 ‘‘(B) costs of attendance at a private ele17 mentary school or secondary school recognized 

18 by the State, which may include a private 

19 school that has a religious mission; 

20 ‘‘(C) private online learning programs; 

21 ‘‘(D) services provided by a public elemen22 tary school or secondary school attended by the 

23 child on a less than full-time basis, including in24 dividual classes and extracurricular activities 

25 and programs; 


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1 ‘‘(E) textbooks, curriculum programs, or 

2 other instructional materials, including any sup3 plemental materials required by a curriculum 

4 program, private school, private online learning 

5 program, or a public school, or any parent di6 rected curriculum associated with K–12 edu7 cation; 

8 ‘‘(F) computer hardware or other techno9 logical devices that are used to help meet a stu10 dent’s educational needs, except that such hard11 ware or devices may not be purchased by a par12 ent more than once in an 18-month period; 

13 ‘‘(G) educational software and applica14 tions; 

15 ‘‘(H) uniforms purchased for attendance at 

16 a private school recognized by the State; 

17 ‘‘(I) fees for nationally standardized as18 sessment exams, advanced placement exams, 

19 any exams related to college or university ad20 mission, or tuition or fees for preparatory 

21 courses for such exams; 

22 ‘‘(J) fees for summer education programs 

23 and specialized after-school education programs 

24 (but not including after-school childcare); 


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1 ‘‘(K) educational services and therapies, 

2 including occupational, behavioral, physical, 

3 speech-language, and audiology therapies; 

4 ‘‘(L) transportation to receive a service 

5 under paragraph (4); 

6 ‘‘(M) costs of attendance at an institution 

7 of higher education; 

8 ‘‘(N) costs associated with an apprentice9 ship or other vocational training program; 

10 ‘‘(O) fees for State-recognized industry 

11 certification exams, and tuition or fees for pre12 paratory courses for such exams; 

13 ‘‘(P) contributions to a college savings ac14 count, which may include contributions to a 

15 qualified tuition program (as defined in section 

16 529(b)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

17 1986) or other prepaid tuition plan offered by 

18 a State; or 

19 ‘‘(Q) any other educational expenses ap20 proved by the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(b) DISBURSEMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL DISBURSEMENTS.—A Tribe that 

23 receives a disbursement amount under subsection (a) 

24 shall make semi-annual distributions of such amount 


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1 to education savings accounts for ESA eligible stu2 dents. 

3 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—A Tribe shall allocate not 

4 more than 5 percent of the amount received per 

5 pupil under this section to the administration of the 

6 education savings account programs of the Tribe. 

7 ‘‘(3) ROLL OVER AND REMAINING FUNDS IN AN

8 ACCOUNT.—Amounts remaining in the Tribal edu9 cation savings account of a student at the end of a 

10 school year shall remain available until expended for 

11 use in accordance with this section. 

12 ‘‘(4) TERMINITION AND RETURN OF FUNDS.— 

13 The Tribal education savings account of a student 

14 shall terminate on— 

15 ‘‘(A) the date on which the student enrolls 

16 in a public elementary school or secondary 

17 school on a full-time basis; 

18 ‘‘(B) in the case of a student who is pur19 suing postsecondary education, the earlier of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the date on which the student 

21 completes postsecondary education; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the student at23 tains the age of 25 years; 


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1 ‘‘(C) in the case of a student who is an in2 dividual with a disability, the date on which the 

3 student attains the age of 26 years; or 

4 ‘‘(D) in the case of an individual not de5 scribed in subparagraph (B) or (C), the earlier 

6 of— 

7 ‘‘(i) the date on which the student at8 tains the age of 25 years; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) the expiration of any 2-year pe10 riod during which funds in the account are 

11 not used in accordance with this section. 

12 ‘‘(c) COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 A State that receives funds under this title shall consider 

14 a child with a Tribal education savings account for a 

15 school year as meeting the State’s compulsory school at16 tendance requirements for such school year. 

17 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of a child with a 

18 Tribal education savings account who attends a public 

19 school on a less than full-time basis in a school year— 

20 ‘‘(1) the child may not attend the public school 

21 free of charge; and 

22 ‘‘(2) funds in the account, in an amount deter23 mined pursuant to an agreement between the parent 

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1 cerned, shall be used to pay for the child’s costs of 

2 attendance at such school. 

3 ‘‘(e) TRIBAL CONSULTATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before providing edu5 cational services to ESA eligible students, and on an 

6 annual basis thereafter, a participating educational 

7 service provider shall engage in consultation with ap8 propriate tribal officials before providing educational 

9 services to ESA eligible students. 

10 ‘‘(2) DOCUMENTATION.—The participating edu11 cational service provider shall maintain in the pro12 vider’s records and provide to the Bureau of Indian 

13 Education a written affirmation signed by the ap14 propriate officials of the participating tribes or tribal 

15 organizations approved by the tribes that the con16 sultation required by this section has occurred. If 

17 such officials do not provide such affirmation within 

18 a reasonable period of time, the affected educational 

19 service provider shall forward documentation that 

20 such consultation has taken place to the Bureau of 

21 Indian Education. 

22 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

23 this section shall be construed to require the partici24 pating educational service provider to determine who 

25 are the appropriate officials. 


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1 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—Consultation required under 

2 this section shall not interfere with the timely ap3 proval and operation of participating educational 

4 service providers. 

5 ‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—A grant awarded to 

6 an ESA eligible student under this section shall be consid7 ered assistance to the student and shall not be considered 

8 assistance to a school that enrolls the ESA eligible student 

9 or any other educational service provider from which the 

10 ESA eligible student receives services. The amounts pro11 vided on behalf of an ESA eligible student under this sec12 tion shall not be treated as income of the parent or the 

13 student for purposes of Federal tax laws or for deter14 mining eligibility for any other Federal program. 

15 ‘‘(g) TERMINATION.—The authority to carry out this 

16 section shall expire on the date that is 5 years after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS.—The term ‘ap20 propriate officials’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) tribal officials who are elected; or 

22 ‘‘(B) appointed tribal leaders or officials 

23 designated in writing. 

24 ‘‘(2) EDUCATIONAL SERVICE PROVIDER.—The 

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1 cational service provider that has entered into an 

2 agreement with a Tribe. 

3 ‘‘(3) ESA ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term 

4 ‘ESA eligible student’ means an individual who is— 

5 ‘‘(A) an elementary school or secondary 

6 school Tribal enrolled student who attended a 

7 school operated by the Bureau of Indian Edu8 cation in the semester preceding the date on 

9 which the student first applies for participation 

10 in an education savings account program; or 

11 ‘‘(B) a child who— 

12 ‘‘(i) will be eligible to attend a school 

13 operated by the Bureau of Indian Edu14 cation for kindergarten or any other ele15 mentary school grade in the next semester 

16 that will start after the date on which the 

17 student first applies for participation in an 

18 education savings account program; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) will not be attending a school op20 erated by the Bureau of Indian Education, 

21 receiving an education savings account 

22 from another Tribe, or attending a public 

23 elementary school or secondary school, 

24 while the student is participating in an 


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1 education savings account program of a 

2 Tribe. 

3 ‘‘(4) EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT PRO4 GRAM.—The term ‘education savings account pro5 gram’ means a program administered by a Tribe in 

6 which the Tribe awards a grant to an account man7 aged by the Tribe or a nonprofit entity on behalf of 

8 a parent of an elementary school or secondary school 

9 student from which the parent may purchase goods 

10 and services needed for the education of the student. 

11 ‘‘(5) NONPROFIT ENTITY DEFINED.—In this 

12 paragraph, the term ‘nonprofit entity’ means an en13 tity that is described in the section 501(c)(3) of the 

14 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from 

15 taxation under section 501(a) of such Code. 

16 ‘‘(6) PARENT.—The term ‘parent’ has the 

17 meaning given the term in section 8101 of the Ele18 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

19 U.S.C. 7801). 

20 ‘‘(7) TRIBE.—The term ‘Tribe’ means any rec21 ognized Indian tribe included on the current list 

22 published by the Secretary under section 104 of the 

23 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe Act of 1994 (25 

24 U.S.C. 5131).’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1126(c) of 

2 the Education Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2006(c)) 

3 is amended by striking ‘‘section 1141(12)’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘section 1142(12)’’. 

5 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE ELEMENTARY AND SEC6 ONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965. 

7 Section 2101(a) of the Elementary and Secondary 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6611(a)) is amended 

9 at the end by inserting the following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(3) one-half of one percent for Tribes that ad11 minister education savings account programs under 

12 section 1141 of part B of title XI of the Education 

13 Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2000 et seq.).’’. 

14 SEC. 4. CHARTER SCHOOLS AUTHORIZED. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of Indian Education 

16 is authorized to approve and fund a Bureau-Funded Char17 ter School at any school operated or funded by the Bureau 

18 of Indian Education. 

19 (b) USE OF BUREAU FACILITIES.—Tribes are au20 thorized to use existing Bureau of Indian Education facili21 ties for the operation, management, and expansion of 

22 grades in Bureau-funded charter schools, as defined in 

23 section 4(d)(1). 

24 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds dispersed to tribes 

25 under this section may be used for subcontracts with a 


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1 tribal organization or developer to manage or operate Bu2 reau-funded charter schools. 

3 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) BUREAU-FUNDED CHARTER SCHOOL.—The 

5 term ‘‘Bureau-Funded Charter School’’ means a 

6 school that— 

7 (A) is approved by the Tribal government 

8 where the school operates and is approved and 

9 funded by the Bureau of Indian Education; 

10 (B) is exempt from significant Federal, 

11 State, or local rules that inhibit the flexible op12 eration and management of Bureau-funded 

13 schools, but not from any rules relating to the 

14 other requirements of this paragraph; 

15 (C) is created by a developer as a Bureau16 funded school, or is adapted by a developer 

17 from an existing Bureau-funded school; 

18 (D) operates in pursuit of a specific set of 

19 educational objectives determined by the 

20 school’s developer and agreed to by each Tribe 

21 served and the Bureau of Indian Education; 

22 (E) provides a program of elementary or 

23 secondary education, or both; 

24 (F) is not affiliated with a sectarian school 

25 or religious institution; 


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1 (G) does not charge tuition; 

2 (H) complies with the Age Discrimination 

3 Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.), title VI 

4 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

5 2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education 

6 Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), 

7 section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 

8 (29 U.S.C. 794), the Americans with Disabil9 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), 

10 section 1232g of this title (commonly referred 

11 to as the ‘‘Family Educational Rights and Pri12 vacy Act of 1974’’), and part B of the Individ13 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

14 1411 et seq.); 

15 (I) is a school to which parents choose to 

16 send their children, and that— 

17 (i) admits students on the basis of a 

18 lottery, consistent with section 

19 4303(c)(3)(A) of the Elementary and Sec20 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

21 7221b(c)(3)(A)), if more students apply 

22 for admission than can be accommodated; 

23 or 

24 (ii) automatically enrolls students who 

25 are enrolled in the immediate prior grade 


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1 level of Bureau-funded schools and, for any 

2 additional student openings or student 

3 openings created through regular attrition 

4 in student enrollment in the affiliated 

5 charter school and the enrolling school, ad6 mits students on the basis of a lottery as 

7 described in clause (i); 

8 (J) agrees to comply with the same Fed9 eral audit requirements as do other Bureau10 funded schools, unless such Federal audit re11 quirements are waived by the Bureau of Indian 

12 Education; 

13 (K) meets all applicable Federal health 

14 and safety requirements; 

15 (L) operates in accordance with Federal 

16 law; 

17 (M) has a written performance contract 

18 with the Bureau of Indian Education that in19 cludes a description of how student perform20 ance will be measured in charter schools pursu21 ant to assessments that are required of other 

22 schools and pursuant to any other assessments 

23 mutually agreeable to the Bureau of Indian 

24 Education, tribe(s) served, and the charter 

25 school; and 


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1 (N) may serve students in early childhood 

2 education programs. 

3 (2) DEVELOPER.—The term ‘‘developer’’ means 

4 an individual or group of individuals (including a 

5 public, private, or tribal nonprofit organization), 

6 which may include teachers, administrators and 

7 other school staff, parents, or other members of the 

8 local community in which a charter school project 

9 will be carried out. 

10 SEC. 5. GAO STUDY. 

11 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

12 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

13 shall— 

14 (1) conduct a review of the implementation of 

15 the programs established by this Act during the pre16 ceding 3-year period, including any factors impact17 ing increased participation in education savings ac18 count programs established pursuant to the amend19 ments made by this Act; 

20 (2) submit a report describing the results of the 

21 review under paragraph (1) to— 

22 (A) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 

23 Senate; and 

24 (B) the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular 

25 and Alaska Native Affairs of the Committee on 


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1 Natural Resources of the House of Representa2 tives; and 

3 (3) make the report described in paragraph (2) 

4 publicly available. 

5 SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY. 

6 If any provision of this Act, or an amendment made 

7 by this Act, or the application of such provision or amend8 ment to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, 

9 the remainder of this Act, or an amendment made by this 

10 Act, or the application of such provision to other persons 

11 or circumstances, shall not be affected. 

Æ 


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