The BIA and DOD school systems are unlike public school systems in a number of ways and are also distinct from each other. Information on the schools, the students and families they serve, the settings in which they operate, and other fundamental aspects of these systems helps put our findings into context. BIA schools serve less than 10 percent of all Indian students enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in this country. In school year 1999– 2000, the total enrollment was 47,080 students in the 171 schools funded by BIA. BIA schools are located in 23 states; however, over 70 percent of the schools are in four states—Arizona, New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota (see fig. 1). The schools are located primarily in rural areas and small towns and serve Indian children living on or near reservations. Individual school enrollments range in size from 14 to over 1,000 students, but a little over half of the schools enroll fewer than 250 students; most are combined schools spanning both elementary and secondary grades. A unique feature of the BIA school system is that almost one-third of the schools have a residential component; that is, they board at least a portion of the students who attend the school. In total, about 17 percent of BIA students reside in school dormitories. Some students board because their homes are so far away or inaccessible that daily transportation is impractical. However, an increasing proportion of students reside in the dormitories for other reasons; for example, some students live in boarding schools to separate them from dysfunctional or severely impoverished home environments. Education programs and activities of BIA schools are administered by the BIA’s Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP); however, in general, the organization of BIA schools is highly decentralized. Each school is governed by its own independent school board, which has authority over functions such as hiring personnel, adopting budgets, and setting policy. Another important aspect of the BIA school system is the agency’s support and encouragement of tribal control of school programs. In school year 1999–2000, 108 schools, or about two-thirds of all BIA-funded schools, were operated by tribes or tribal organizations under grants, contracts, or compacts with BIA; the remainder were operated by BIA. In fiscal year 2001, BIA received a total of $777.6 million to support the operations of its schools and address educational facility needs. This represented a substantial (30 percent) increase over fiscal year 2000 funding levels. Nearly all of the increase was for repair or replacement of school facilities; funding for school operations increased only moderately.Like many public schools, BIA schools also receive funding from Education programs, such as Title I and Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities. Funds from these programs are provided to BIA and passed through to schools. Fiscal year 2000 funding from Education programs totaled $132 million. BIA schools also participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) child nutrition programs, such as the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs, which provide free or reduced- price meals for children living in families earning below certain income levels. DOD operates schools for the children of military and civilian DOD personnel overseas and on certain military bases in the United States. In total, DOD operated 224 elementary and secondary schools in school year 1999–2000, with an enrollment of almost 108,000 students. A little over two-thirds of DOD schools are located overseas, concentrated in several countries in Europe and in Japan, Korea, and Cuba (see figs. 2 and 3). About 74,280 students were enrolled in DOD overseas schools in school year 1999–2000. The domestic schools are located on military bases in seven states concentrated in the Southeast and in Guam and Puerto Rico (see fig. 4) and enrolled about 33,690 students in school year 1999–2000.Individual school enrollments range in size from 32 to over 1,300 in the two DOD systems, with the median school size being about 450 students. According to a DOD official, nearly all eligible children of military parents overseas attend DOD schools. However, most children of military parents in the U.S. attend public schools. DOD officials estimate that about 15 percent of school age military dependents in total attend DOD schools abroad and in the United States. Education programs and activities of DOD schools are managed and directed by the Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA). The overseas and domestic schools are organized into 24 districts, each managed by a superintendent and other district staff, such as curriculum coordinators and maintenance supervisors. In fiscal year 2001, DOD schools received a total of $1.3 billion to support school operations and address facility needs. Overall, this represented level funding since fiscal year 2000, although funding for school operations and maintenance rose slightly while funding for school construction decreased. DOD schools are not authorized to receive grants from federal programs, including those administered by Education; however, DOD schools do participate in the USDA child nutrition programs. While the federal government has responsibility for both the BIA and DOD school systems, the two systems are very distinct from each other, particularly with respect to the types of students and families they serve. The proportion of students who have special needs is much higher in BIA schools than DOD schools. For example, according to agency records, about 1 in every 5 BIA students is enrolled in special education, compared with 1 in every 12 DOD students; and nearly 60 percent of BIA students have limited English proficiency compared with just 6 percent of DOD students. Students in the two systems also differ in terms of their economic need. Eligibility for the USDA’s free or reduced-price lunch programs is often used as an indicator of poverty. While data on the proportion of children eligible for free or reduced-price lunch were not complete for BIA schools, available data for 123 of the 171 schools showed that over 80 percent of students were eligible, compared with about one- third of students at DOD schools. Specific information on the education levels and employment status of parents of BIA and DOD students was not available, but other information suggests significant differences between the two. For example, unemployment on or near Indian reservations is very high—over 40 percent in 1999. In contrast, students attending DOD schools are generally military dependents and, by virtue of that fact, have at least one parent who is employed. With respect to education, about one-third of Indian adults do not have high school diplomas, according to Census Bureau data for 1990; in contrast, nearly all DOD active military personnel have completed high school. Moreover, a number of factors can affect parental involvement in BIA schools, including long distances between home and school, language barriers, and parents’ poor associations with schools due to past federal policies emphasizing the assimilation of Indian children. In comparison, military communities have a tradition of supporting military families, and this support extends to their schools. Parental involvement is highly emphasized in DOD schools, with some base commands providing release time to military personnel to volunteer in schools. At various times, the Congress has considered the question of whether there is a need for BIA and DOD schools in locations where public school systems are close by. Since 1794, when the first treaty providing for any form of Indian education was signed, the federal government has provided education services for Indian children, and has carried it out almost exclusively through the BIA. However, in the 20th century, the states began providing for Indian education and currently provide schooling for the majority of Indian elementary and secondary students. During the latter part of the 1970s, the Congress reviewed the need to construct certain BIA schools close to public schools to determine if BIA was properly ranking schools on its school construction list. Though Indian families can choose where to send their children to school, BIA’s policy at that time was to have children attend nearby public schools with adequate facilities instead of building new BIA schools to serve these students. However, in 1988, the Congress decided that proximity to a public school could not be the primary reason for rejecting a BIA school construction project. The need for DOD domestic schools also has been reviewed a number of times, specifically to determine whether transferring schools to nearby public school districts is feasible. DOD domestic schools were established to provide education to military children in communities where the local schools were deemed unable to provide a suitable education. After 1950, schools were added to the system to allow military children to attend integrated schools in locations where local schools remained segregated. Since that time, however, more and more schools have been transferred to public school districts, in part because of the integration of public schools and Education’s emphasis on state and local responsibility for the education of military children. Thus, while at one time there were about 100 installations with DOD-operated schools, now there are 14 located in the 50 states. According to a DOD official, most children of military parents in the U.S. attend public schools. The academic achievement of many BIA students falls far below that of public school students. As in most public schools, nearly all BIA teachers are certified and class sizes in BIA schools are smaller than national averages, even though officials report some difficulty recruiting staff. BIA students have greater access to computers and Internet connections than public school students generally, though a smaller proportion of BIA schools than public schools has technology support staff to maintain equipment and assist teachers in integrating technology into classrooms. BIA administrators report extensive facilities problems and agency records show a deferred maintenance and repair backlog approaching $1 billion. Estimated per-pupil expenditures vary widely among different types of BIA schools, such as boarding schools and day schools, and are higher than per-pupil expenditures at public schools. It is difficult to draw conclusions about differences in expenditure levels between BIA and public schools, in part because of cost factors that affect some BIA schools, such as higher proportions of students who have special needs, broader infrastructure responsibilities, longer distances to transport children, and the cost of residential programs in boarding schools.