Sec. 7301. Alaska Native education
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Subpart 2 of part B of title VII ( 20 U.S.C. 7541 et seq. ), as amended by section 7201, is further amended by striking sections 7301 through 7306 and inserting the following: This subpart may be cited as the Alaska Native Educational Equity, Support, and Assistance Act . Congress finds the following: The attainment of educational success is critical to the betterment of the conditions, long-term well-being, and preservation of the culture and languages of Alaska Natives. It is the policy of the Federal Government to encourage the maximum participation by Alaska Natives in the planning and the management of Alaska Native education programs and to support efforts developed by and undertaken within the Alaska Native community to improve educational opportunity for all students.
Alaska Native children enter and exit school with serious educational handicaps. The educational achievement of Alaska Native children is far below national norms. Alaska Native performance on standardized tests is low, Alaska Native student dropout rates are high, Natives are significantly underrepresented among holders of baccalaureate degrees in the State of Alaska, and Alaska Natives are more likely than other Alaskans to be without access to employment. As a result, Alaska Native students are being denied their opportunity to become full participants in society and an entire generation is being condemned to an underclass status and a life of limited choices.
The programs and activities authorized under this subpart are essential if educational handicaps are to be overcome. The sheer magnitude of the geographic and other barriers to be overcome in delivering educational services in rural Alaska and Alaska villages should be addressed through the development and implementation of innovative, model programs in a variety of areas. Alaska Native children should be afforded the opportunity to begin their formal education on a par with their non-Native peers.
The Federal Government should lend support to efforts developed by and undertaken within the Alaska Native community to improve educational opportunity for all students. In 1983, pursuant to Public Law 98–63 (97 Stat. 326), Alaska ceased to receive educational funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The purposes of this subpart are as follows: To address the critical need to meet the unique educational needs of Alaska Natives. To authorize the development and expansion of effective supplemental educational programs to benefit Alaska Natives.
To supplement existing programs and authorities in the area of education to further the purposes of this subpart. To provide direction and guidance to appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies to focus resources, including resources made available under this subpart, on meeting the educational needs of Alaska Natives. To ensure the maximum participation by Alaska Natives in the planning and management of programs designed to serve Alaska Natives. The Secretary is authorized to make grants to, or enter into contracts with, the following entities in order to enable such entities to carry out programs that meet the purposes of this subpart:
Alaska Native organizations. Educational entities with experience in developing or operating Alaska Native programs or programs of instruction conducted in Alaska Native languages. Cultural and community-based organizations with experience in developing or operating programs to benefit the educational needs of Alaska Natives. Consortia of organizations and entities described in this paragraph. Activities provided through programs carried out under this subpart may include the following:
The development and implementation of plans, methods, and strategies to improve the education of Alaska Natives. The development of curricula and programs that address the educational needs of Alaska Native students, including the following: Curricula materials that reflect the cultural diversity, languages, history, or the contributions of Alaska Natives. Instructional programs that make use of Alaska Native languages and cultures. Networks that develop, test, and disseminate best practices and introduce successful programs, materials, and techniques to meet the educational needs of Alaska Native students in urban and rural schools.
Training and professional development activities for educators, including the following: Pre-service and in-service training and professional development programs to prepare teachers to develop appreciation for and understanding of Alaska Native cultures, values, and ways of knowing and learning in order to effectively address the cultural diversity and unique needs of Alaska Native students. The recruitment and preparation of teachers who are Alaska Native. Programs that will lead to the certification and licensing of Alaska Native teachers, principals, and superintendents.
The development and operation of home instruction programs for Alaska Native preschool children, to ensure the active involvement of parents in their children's education from the earliest ages. Family literacy activities. The development and operation of student enrichment programs, including such programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics that— are designed to prepare Alaska Native students to excel in such subjects; provide appropriate support services to the families of such students that are needed to enable such students to benefit from the programs; and include activities that recognize and support the unique cultural and educational needs of Alaska Native children, and incorporate appropriately qualified Alaska Native elders and other tradition bearers.
Research and data collection activities to determine the educational status and needs of Alaska Native children and adults. Other research and evaluation activities related to programs carried out under this subpart. Remedial and enrichment programs to assist Alaska Native students to be college or career ready upon graduation from high school. Parenting education for parents and caregivers of Alaska Native children to improve parenting and caregiving skills (including skills relating to discipline and cognitive development), including parenting education provided through in-home visitation of new mothers.
Culturally based education programs designed and provided by an entity with demonstrated experience in— providing programs of study, both on site and in local schools, to share the rich and diverse cultures of Alaska Native peoples among youth, elders, teachers, and the larger community; instructing Alaska Native youth in leadership, communication, Native culture, arts, and languages; increasing the high school graduation rate of the Alaska Native students who are served; providing instruction in Alaska Native history and ways of living to students and teachers in the local school district; providing intergenerational learning and internship opportunities to Alaska Native youth and young adults; and providing cultural immersion activities aimed at Alaska Native cultural preservation.
A statewide on-site exchange program, for both students and teachers, involving schools and culture camps that demonstrates effectiveness in facilitating cultural relationships between urban and rural Alaskans to build mutual respect and understanding, and foster a statewide sense of common identity through host family, school, and community cross-cultural immersion. Such a program should be competitively awarded. Activities carried out through Head Start programs carried out under the Head Start Act, including the training of teachers for such programs.
Other early childhood education programs. Education programs for at-risk urban Alaska Native students in kindergarten through grade 12 that are operated by tribes or tribal organizations that have demonstrated experience in increasing graduation rates among such students and that— include a culturally informed curriculum intended to preserve and promote Alaska Native culture; partner effectively with the local educational agency by providing a school-within-a school program model; provide high-quality academic instruction, small classroom sizes, and social-emotional support for students from elementary school through high school; work with parents to increase parental involvement in their students’ education; have a proven track record of improving academic proficiency and increasing graduation rates; provide college preparation and career planning; and incorporate a strong data collection and continuous evaluation component at all levels of the program.
A statewide program that has demonstrated effectiveness in providing technical assistance and support to schools and communities in order to engage adults in promoting the academic progress and overall well-being of young people through strengths-based approaches to child and youth development, positive youth-adult relationships, improved conditions for learning (such as school climate and student connection to school and community), and increased connections between schools and families.
Career preparation activities to enable Alaska Native children and adults to prepare for meaningful employment, including programs providing career and technical preparation, mentoring, training, and apprenticeship activities. The provision of operational support and the purchase of equipment to develop regional career and technical schools in rural areas of Alaska, including boarding schools, for Alaska Native students in grades 9 through 12, or at higher levels of education, to provide the students with necessary resources to prepare for skilled employment opportunities.
Other activities, consistent with the purposes of this subpart, to meet the educational needs of Alaska Native children and adults. Regional leadership academies that demonstrate effectiveness in building respect and understanding and fostering a sense of Alaska Native identity to promote Alaska Native students pursuit of, and success in, completing higher education or career training. Home instruction programs for Alaska Native preschool children carried out under paragraph (2)(D) may include the following:
Programs for parents and their infants, from the prenatal period of the infant through age 3. Preschool programs. Training, education, and support for parents in such areas as reading readiness, observation, story telling, and critical thinking. Not more than 5 percent of funds provided to a grantee under this section for any fiscal year may be used for administrative purposes. In awarding grants or contracts to carry out activities described in this subpart, the Secretary shall give priority to applications from Alaska Native regional nonprofit organizations, Alaska Native organizations, or consortia that include not less than 1 Alaska Native regional nonprofit organization.
No grant may be made under this subpart, and no contract may be entered into under this subpart, unless the entity seeking the grant or contract submits an application to the Secretary in such form, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may determine necessary to carry out the provisions of this subpart. A State educational agency or local educational agency may apply for an award under this subpart only as part of a consortium involving an Alaska Native organization.
The consortium may include other eligible applicants. Each applicant for an award under this subpart shall provide for ongoing advice from and consultation with representatives of the Alaska Native community. Each entity that applies for an award under this subpart shall inform each local educational agency that serves students who would participate in the program that such entity plans to carry out under the grant or contract about the application described in subsection (a).
In this subpart: The term Alaska Native has the same meaning as the term Native has in section 3(b) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1602(b) ). The term Alaska Native organization means a federally recognized tribe, a consortium of tribes, a regional nonprofit Alaska Native association, or another organization, that— has or commits to acquire expertise in the education of Alaska Natives; and has Alaska Natives in substantive and policymaking positions within the tribe, consortium, association, or organization. .
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U.S. Code
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- Pub. L. 98-63
- 97 Stat. 326
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