Functional Statements > Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

G. OFFICE OF INDIAN EDUCATION

The Office of Indian Education (OIE) administers the Indian Education Program of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Title VII, Part A), which establishes policies and provides financial and technical assistance for supporting local education agencies (LEA’s), Indian tribes and organizations, post secondary institutions and other entities in meeting the special educational and cultural related academic needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives, 20 U.S.C. 7401 et. seq. The Indian Education Programs include:

• Formula grants to LEA's;
• Discretionary programs including:
• Professional development for Teachers;
• Demonstration grants to improve the opportunities and achievement of Indian students; and
• National research activity grants.

OIE administers approximately 1,300 formula and discretionary grants each year. A White House appointed National Advisory Council on Indian Education (NACIE) provides advice and counsel on program policies and implementation strategies of the Indian Education Program.

The Director of OIE is responsible for establishing policies and for providing overall leadership. The Director is also responsible for the coordination of all activities in ED, which relate to Indian education and serves as the Designated Federal Official to the NACIE. The Director promotes cooperative efforts among various Federal departments on matters involving Indian education and establishes cooperative working relationships with Institute for Education Sciences (IES) for administration of the national research activity grants. The Office of the Director also develops policies, procedures, and regulations to support overall program management and operations, develops and coordinates national evaluation, technical assistance, and dissemination activities.

OIE staff are organized into two teams of program specialists. A Group Leader that is responsible for work assignments, quality assurance, and staff development heads each team.

Team 1 is responsible for approximately one-half of the formula grants and for the administration of the discretionary grant program. Formula grant administration is assigned to individual program specialists on a geographic basis. This team also supports the program budgeting and contracting responsibilities.

Team 2 is responsible for the remaining formula grants. Program specialists are assigned administration responsibilities on a geographic basis. Grant administration includes monitoring of technical reports, financial draws, and technical assistance. This team also supports the office administrative and information dissemination activities. This team also provides liaison to the NACIE.

OIE is the only program office of ED that funds directly to LEA’s without the direct involvement of State agencies. Consequently, the program monitoring and evaluation for OIE grants involves a very large number of individual grants. A portion of OIE funding is also set-aside for schools administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). OIE facilitates the transfer of all funding from ED program to BIA that is set-aside for administration by BIA. OIE also maintains close communication with BIA to ensure that policies and regulations governing transferred funds are consistent with legislative requirements and ED policies.

OIE works closely with the IES to develop a long-term research agenda for improving Indian education. OIE and IES jointly administer the National Activities research funding to support innovative strategies for Indian education, development and analysis of empirical statistical data on Indian student achievement, technical assistance for grantees, and program monitoring of grants.

OIE also facilitates ED implementation of the American Indian and Alaskan Native Education Executive Order 13336. Executive Order 13336 (April 30, 2004) creates a Working Group made up of all federal employees who shall oversee implementation of this Order. This Order suggests a consultation process to be utilized by the Working Group in the planning and implementation of policies and program strategies that may affect Indian students, Tribal governments, or Indian organizations. The Working Group will conduct a multi-year study of American Indian and Alaska Native education.