STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL INDIAN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

SUBMITTED TO THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS

ON THE PRESIDENTS FISCAL YEAR 1999 BUDGET

February 25, 1998

The National Indian Education Association (NIEA), the oldest national organization representing the education concerns of over 3,000 American Indian and Alaska Native educators, school administrators, teachers, parents, and students, is pleased to submit this statement on the President's FY 1999 budget as it affects Indian education. NIEA has an elected board of 12 members who represent various Indian education programs and constituencies from throughout the nation. Every year, NIEA holds an annual convention which provides our members with an opportunity to network, share information, and hear from Congressional leaders and staff as well as federal government officials on policy and legislative initiatives impacting Indian education.

We commend President Clinton for a budget that emphasizes the importance of education for all citizens of this country, including the First Americans. There are some programs such as the Office of Indian Education (OIE) in the Department of Education, Impact Aid, and higher education scholarships which deserve further consideration for increases. Other issues which may arise this year, such as block granting of Department of Education funding, need to be considered very carefully by the Congress. Funding for certain Indian education programs are the result of the Federal/Tribal Trust relationship and may not be conducive to these types of funding proposals.

President Clinton has proposed several new education initiatives for FY1999 which will require a major investment of federal dollars. Some of these are reliant upon the Tobacco Settlement which may or may not be completed this fiscal year. Administration proposals like the School Construction Tax Credit and the Class-Size Reduction Initiative are desperately needed by schools operated and funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The investment proposed for BIA Education Construction will help to partially meet the huge backlog of projects now estimated at over $800 million.

In April of 1994, President Clinton and tribal leaders met to discuss a variety of issues including, briefly, education. Immediately following that historic event, Indian educators were challenged by the White House to come up with a comprehensive approach to the federal government's administration of Indian education programs. That challenge was taken up and has been successfully met in a way far exceeding even our expectations. For the past three years, NIEA has worked cooperatively with the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) in developing an Executive Order on a Comprehensive Federal Indian Education Policy Statement (CFIEPS).

The intent of this policy is to formally set national guidelines for Indian education programs which would be applicable to all federal agencies. The uniqueness of this document is that it is tribally-endorsed, encompasses all education levels, and reflects the historical nature of federal education policy. These guidelines are broad enough to define and direct federal agency implementation of all congressional and executive branch level Indian education initiatives including budget appropriations. The CFIEPS has been forwarded to the Clinton Administration with several House and Senate Members endorsing the proposal.

NIEA's testimony will discuss Indian education and related programs administered by the Departments of Commerce, Education, Health and Human Services, Interior, and Labor, and specifically those within the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Indian Health Service (IHS).

1. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

I. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA):

Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP). NIEA supports the Administration's FY1999 request of $22 million for this program. TIIAP provides grants for projects that enable schools and communities to develop their telecommunications infrastructure and to offer students opportunities to develop their technology skills. Tribes and tribal colleges are among those who recognize the importance of this program in meeting their telecommunications technology needs and in producing technology-literate students. Developing a tribal workforce skilled in telecommunications technology can help tribes reduce unemployment in their communities by giving individuals marketable job skills; supporting established businesses on, or attracting new ones to, their reservations; and strengthening tribal government administrative infrastructures in order to improve delivery of education, health, and other social welfare programs in addition to carrying out day-to-day governmental functions and responsibilities. Recent grantees include the Alamo Navajo School Board in New Mexico; Fort Berthold Community College in North Dakota; Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board in Oregon; Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota; Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments in Alaska; and the Minneapolis American Indian Center in Minnesota.

2. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

I. Office of Indian Education (OIE):

For FY1999, the Department of Education has requested $66 million to fund formula grants to Local Education Agencies (LEAs), partially restore discretionary funding for OIE and fund certain National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) surveys. NIEA supports full funding for OIE in the amount of $83 million. This amount, in addition to LEA grants, would include a full reinstate of discretionary grant programs, full funding for the National Advisory Council on Indian Education (NACIE) and partial funding for the Presidential Executive Order on Tribally Controlled Community Colleges (TCCC). NIEA requests partial funding for the TCCC Executive Order since its implementation requires other Education Department agencies to combine resources. In 1997, budget authority for OIE transferred from Interior to Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations.

Partial funding has been restored for OIE's discretionary program called Special Programs for Indian Children. NIEA requests the Committee's support for full reinstatement for other discretionary programs in adult literacy and Indian fellowships. The Department's support for Indian students throughout its other programs is well established and appreciated by the Indian community, however, few Departmental initiatives are available for Indian adults and Indian students attending postsecondary institutions. This educational gap prevents full educational access generally assured other students. NIEA's FY1999 request proposes to fill this educational inequity.

The following are NIEA's recommendations regarding OIE funding by category:

A. Formula Grants to LEAs. For FY1999, the U.S. Department of Education has requested $62 million for its formula grant program to public schools. The Department estimates that this funding assists 405,376 Indian students attending public and 43,089 students attending Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools for a total of 448,465.

B. Special Programs for Indian Children. NIEA is appreciative of the Department's effort to partially restore discretionary funding for certain OIE programs. The $3.3 million request includes $3.265 million for the Special Programs for Indian Children. The Special Programs account, if funded, would carry out two initiatives: 1) demonstration grants for early childhood and preschool education; and 2) preparation of Indians to take positions in teaching and school administration. NIEA is concerned, however, that Department of Education officials informed the NIEA membership during our national convention that the Office of Indian Education would be fully funded. The $3.3 million increase falls far short of the $20 million expected for reinstatement of Indian Education programs.

C. National Activities. The Administration requests $735,000 in FY1999 to augment the Year 2000 National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The data collection effort would ensure that American Indian students are included in upcoming NCES surveys that will yield additional information on American Indian learners.

NIEA is appreciative of the targeted increases for Indian education, but continues to be concerned that studies on American Indian students are not already a part of the Department's data gathering effort. Most other ethnic populations receive considerable research results without having their respective program budgets cover the cost. A 1996 report by the United States Commission on Civil Rights titled the 'Equal Educational Opportunity Project Series, Vol. 1' found that Department of Education data on student characteristics was lacking among students from American Indian, Asian and other national backgrounds. The report stated that "accurate, reliable and complete data on these ethnic groups are vital for the efforts of the education community to assess the needs of all student sub-populations." The report recommended that documents from the Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), and other federal agencies that contain data utilized by policy and decision makers, should include information on these populations. NIEA echoes this position and recommends that the Department of Education make a concerted effort to provide research data for all ethnic categories when conducting studies and that they do so with funds requested through their own programs.

D. Tribal College Executive Order. At the release of the Department's budget, no numbers were available for funding recommendations for the Tribal Colleges Executive Order which was funded in FY 1998 at $200,000. NIEA has been informed by the Department that other agencies will have their resources combined for the Order's implementation.

E. The National Advisory Council on Indian Education (NACIE). NACIE is recommended at only $50,000 -the same amount as FY1998. NIEA requests that the Committee consider full funding for NACIE in order for it to carry out its mandated functions under the Indian Education Act. NACIE currently has no permanent office and must rely on OIE staff to carry out minimal functions. Since FY1996, NACIE has been unable to fully carry out its advisory capacity on behalf of Indian education. NIEA has made every effort to involve NACIE in several Indian education initiatives including a proposed Indian Education Executive Order, which intends to utilize NACIE's advisory role in its implementation. NIEA also requests that NACIE be permitted to carry out hearings on behalf of Indian Education during the 1999 reauthorization of the Improving America's Schools Act, which contains the Indian Education Act.

F. OIE Fellowship Program. Another loss, from which Indian Country has yet to fully recover, is the Indian Fellowship Program. This program was last funded in FY1996 and represented a broad, non-targeted approach to ensuring Indian students participated in postsecondary education. At its peak, the program allowed approximately 150 Indian students annually to attend higher education institutions in fields as diverse as education to medical school. Complicating the situation is the fact that funding for higher education scholarships, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service, have been cut over 50 percent since 1996. NIEA stresses to the Committee that the increases in education funding, in general, have not reached the American Indian higher education community and every effort needs to be made to correct this situation.

G. OIE Administration. Funding requests were not available for the OIE administration which is now covered under the overall Department of Education's Program Administration account. A budget footnote in the Education Department's 1999 budget request indicated that '$2.9 million in 1997 and $2.8 million in 1998 were identified for administrative costs' which are now included in the Program Administration account in 1999.

II. Other DoEd Indian Education-Related Programs:

A. Class Size Reduction Initiative. The Administration proposes to spend $7.3 billion over five years ($1.1 billion in 1999) on a new program to reduce class sizes particularly in urban areas. School districts would receive funds to recruit, train, and pay the salaries of additional teachers. This program would be paid for with funds from the tobacco settlement, outside the appropriations process. The Department estimates that approximately $5.5 million would benefit American Indian students under this proposal. NIEA supports this initiative.

B. Goals 2000. NIEA supports the President's request for Goals 2000 in the FY 1999 budget of $501 million. This represents a $10 million increase over the 1998 appropriation of $491 million. One percent of Title III funds for Territories and BIA-funded schools are used to support comprehensive, systemic education reforms to improve teaching and learning. The FY1998 budget for Bureau of Indian Affairs schools was $3.8 million with $3.6 million proposed in FY1999. Approximately 43,000 Indian students are to be served.

C. Safe and Drug-Free Schools. NIEA supports the FY1999 request for Safe and Drug-Free Schools of $606 million, or $50 million more than in 1998. State grants under this program total $526 million. BIA schools receive a one percent set-aside, which in 1998 was $5.3 million. The FY 1999 request is expected to be the same with 40,000 Indian students benefitting.

D. School-To-Work. NIEA supports the President's request for School-To-Work funding. The President's request cuts the School-to-Work vocational education program by $75 million or 37 percent in fiscal year 1999. The FY 1999 request is $125 million with an equal request from the Department of Labor bringing the total program to $250 million. This program is due to phase out in 2001, with States or other vocational education dollars continuing the program. Up to one percent of program funds are set-aside for programs to help Indian youth acquire the knowledge and skills they need to make a smooth transition from school to career-oriented work and further education and training. The amount going to Indian students in FY 1998 is $2 million with $2.4 million proposed for FY 1999.

E. Title I. Title I, Education for the Disadvantaged, covers four programs: Title I basic grants; Title I concentration grants; Title I targeted grants; and capital expenses for private school children. The FY 1999 request for Title I Basic Grants is $6.270 billion, an increase of $788,000 (less than 0.1 percent) over 1998. The BIA set-aside amount under this appropriation would be $47 million and serve 24,500 Indian students. NIEA supports the funding recommendations of the President.

F. Comprehensive School Reform. This Title I initiative was funded in FY 1998 at $120 million and funds research based school-wide reform. The FY 1999 request is $150 million. Under this proposal, the BIA and Territories would receive a 1 percent set-aside, estimated at approximately $2.7 million. The Department of Education notified the BIA that their portion of the set-aside would be $896,402. From this amount, $815,323 would be used for Title I comprehensive school grants and $81,079 would be used for Fund for the Improvement of Education projects. NIEA is concerned that the usual share for BIA and Territories combined funding from typical set-asides is divided according to an average 60/40 split. The BIA would receive 33 percent instead of the 60 percent as proposed by the Department.

G. Impact Aid. NIEA does not support the Administration request of $696 million, which is $112 million less than the 1998 amount. Impact Aid compensates school districts in areas where large numbers of children live on, or are associated with, Federal property such as Indian reservations or military bases. In 1998 the Department estimated that over 118,000 Indian children living on Indian lands would generate approximately $214.5 million for local school districts. In FY1999, American Indian students will generate approximately $270 million for local public schools. Based on 1998 funding, Impact Aid school districts would lose funding from approximately 2.7 million students (based on a total 1998 enrollment of 20 million students), should the funding not be restored. NIEA urges the Committee to support restoring the $112 million for Impact Aid school districts.

H. Education for Homeless Children and Youth. NIEA supports the FY1999 request of $30 million for Education of Homeless Children and Youth. Under this program, the BIA receives a one percent set-aside for homeless students served by the BIA.

I. Bilingual Education. NIEA supports the Bilingual Education request of $232 million. American Indians receive indirect funding for Bilingual Education programs in the amount of $30.2 million. Funding is distributed through grants to school districts to address the severe academic problems of school children who are limited English proficient. The Department estimates that 182,000 American Indian students will receive bilingual education assistance in FY1999.

J. Special Education Grants to States. NIEA does not support the Administration's FY1999 request for Special Education programs since it is only increased by $35 million to $4.8 billion. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was reauthorized in 1997 as Public Law 105-17. BIA schools receive 1 percent for the education of children 5-21 years with disabilities who live on reservations. An additional .25 percent is allocated for distribution to tribes and tribal organizations to provide for the coordination of assistance and related services for children aged 3-5 with disabilities on reservation schools. The set-aside amount in the FY1999 budget request which is estimated at $46.7 million. Approximately 7,000 Indian students with disabilities would be served with Special Education funding. NIEA voiced its opposition during the reauthorization of IDEA as authorizors proposed to lower the Indian set-aside amount from 1.5 to 1.25 percent.

K. Special Education Grants for Infants and Families. NIEA supports the $4.5 million request for Grants for Infants and Families program. BIA schools receive 1.25 percent for distribution to tribes and tribal organizations for the coordination of assistance in the provision of early intervention services to children aged birth to 2 years.

L. Rehabilitation Services. NIEA supports the Presidents FY1999 request of $2.6 billion for Rehabilitation Services. The Rehabilitation Service Grants Indians in the FY1999 budget is $17.2 million, a $1.9 million increase over FY1998. Funds for this program are based on a .5 percent set-aside. These critical dollars provide vocational rehabilitation services to 7,000 American Indians with disabilities living on reservations.

M. Education Technology. The FY 1999 request is $591 million, $50 million more than 1998 and includes a Technology Literacy Challenge fund, Technology Innovation Challenge Grants, and Leadership Activities. An additional $87 million goes for three new national programs: teacher training in technology, community-based technology centers, and technology leadership activities. American Indians are estimated to benefit with approximately $2.3 million in Technology Literacy Challenge funds in FY1999.

N. Alaska Native Education Equity. NIEA supports the FY 1999 request of $8 million, the same as the previous two fiscal years. The Alaska Native Education Equity program funding request provides funding for continuation of projects that address the barriers preventing Alaska Native students from achieving to higher academic standards.

O. Vocational and Adult Education. The FY 1999 request for Vocational Education is $1.1 billion, a $3 million increase over 1998. Under this program American Indians previously received funding under two programs -the Indian and Hawaiian Native set-aside and the Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Vocational Institutions. The 1999 request eliminates funding under the Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Vocational Institutions program, which was funded at $3.1 million in 1998, and moves it to the Indian and Hawaiian Natives set-aside. Funding for the Indian and Hawaiian Natives set-aside in the FY 1999 request is $20.1 million, $4.5 million more than in 1998 (Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Institutions will still receive $3.1 million in the 1999 request).

P. Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The Department of Education is currently drafting legislation for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, which to date has yet to be fully completed. The current law has 13 separate titles with most Indian programs contained in Title XIII and which has not yet been drafted. The reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, as proposed by the Department, includes a new addition to Title III, Aid for Institutional Development. The new section under Part E is called the Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU) Program. This new initiative would create an institutional aid program designed to improve, strengthen and expand the institution's capacity to serve American Indians and other low-income students. The FY1999 request for this program is $5 million which NIEA supports. The following are some of the proposed sections of the Higher Education Act reauthorization:

Title IV. Under Title IV, the TRIO program will remain virtually the same except for minor administrative changes. The FY1999 request is $583 million, $53 million more than in FY1998. The TRIO program benefits approximately 7,900 American Indian and Alaska Native students at an estimated $6.3 million in FY1999. The President's High Hopes for College initiative is also included under this title.

Title V. Under Title V, the Administration proposes to focus resources on recruitment of new teachers for high poverty urban and rural areas, preparing them well, and supporting them during induction, the critical stage of a teacher's career. American Indian and other minority serving institutions with teacher training programs will be given priority consideration during the application process. Title V is currently funded at $2.2 million while the FY1999 request is $67 million, a substantial increase for teacher preparation.

Title X. Under Title X, the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), is being reauthorized without any substantial changes. The FY1999 request is $22.5 million, $2.7 million less than FY1998. The remaining Titles have yet to be fully drafted and will be reviewed when available.

3. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

I. Administration for Children and Families:


A. Headstart. NIEA supports the FY1999 budget request of $134.458 million for programs for American Indian children. This request is a $10 million increase over 1998 and is appreciated by Indian Country. The Headstart Bureau estimates that over 21,000 American Indian children will benefit from the services provided by this program. Currently there are 150 Indian Headstart programs serving Indian communities.

The Headstart Act is being reauthorized in 1998 and NIEA anticipates the need for few major changes to the program as it affects American Indians. NIEA is concerned, however that regulations regarding consultation with Indian Tribes are still going through the clearance process at the Department of Health and Human Services. The latest consultation requirement went into affect after the last reauthorization in 1994. NIEA requests that this be completed and made available to Indian Country as soon as possible.

II. Indian Health Service.

A. Indian Health Professions Scholarships. NIEA supports the level funding of $28. 7 million for Indian Health Professions but is concerned since no increase in the program has been evident since FY1996. The need for health professionals in Indian Country has exceeded the available funding for ensuring adequate numbers of American Indians enter the medical profession in Indian Country. The Indian Health Professions is authorized by Public Law 94-437, the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA), and includes various Health Profession programs under sections 102 through 105; 108; 110; 112; and 114. The FY1999 request for Health Professions is $28.7 million. The funding breakout per section is as follows: section 102, $723,300; section 103, $3.578 million; section 104, $8.760 million; section 105, $1.294 million; section 108, $11.889 million; section 110, $580,300; section 112, $1.673 million; and section 114, $220,100.



III. Other DHHS Indian Education-Related Programs:

A. Administration for Native Americans (ANA). NIEA supports the FY1999 request of $34.9 million for ANA programs, which is the same as the FY1998 amount. NIEA supports the programs authorized for Indian tribes and organizations through this program. We understand that ANA is due for reauthorization this year and will foward recommendations to the appropriate committee of jurisdiction. ANA provides funding for tribes and non-profit Indian organizations to develop economic development, environmental management, and language retention and preservations projects. Its mandate makes this agency uniquely situated to help Indian and Alaska Native people address their economic and social needs.

B. Native American Languages Act Grants. NIEA anticipates approximately $2 million going toward language preservation grants, which is $200,000 more than in 1998. NIEA supports the Native Language Act of 1992 which authorized a funding level of $2 million in FY1993. We urge the Committee's continued support so that tribes have the resources to implement language preservation and enhancement projects.


C. Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG). NIEA supports the FY 1999 request of $5.1 billion for child care activities. Included in this request are funds for child care entitlements (Mandatory Funds), and Discretionary Funds (the former CCDBG). Tribes receive a 2 percent set-aside of these funds. Also included in the $5.1 billion request are funds to implement the President's Child Care Initiative. These funds will support the following new activities: an Early Learning Fund; a Standards Enforcement Fund; a Child Care Provider Scholarship Fund; and a Research and Evaluation Fund. It is expected that Tribes will benefit from these new child care initiatives in FY1999. In FY1998, 243 tribal grantees were awarded over $61 million in Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) grant funds. Through consortia arrangements, CCDF tribal grantees serve over 500 Federally recognized Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages. The following activities have been implemented for Indian Tribes and tribal organizations as a result of Welfare Reform amendments to the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act:



A Program Instruction containing the uniform procedures for requests by tribal grantees to use CCDF funds for construction and major renovation of child care facilities was approved by OMB.

P.L. 104-193 requires minimum child care standards to be developed in consultation with Indian Tribes and tribal organizations that appropriately reflect tribal needs and available resources. Tribal Leaders were invited to consult with ACF officials on this issue in special focus groups at the Tribal Child Care Conference in April 1997. A Notice requesting comments on minimum standards was published in the Federal Register on March 26, 1997. Through the establishment of a Tribal Standards Advisory Committee, the Child Care Bureau is continuing to consult with Tribes on the development of these standards.

A Program Announcement was published in the Federal Register on July 18, 1997 requesting competitive funding applications for child care services for a Native Hawaiian organization and a "private nonprofit organization established for the purpose of serving youth who are Indians or Native Hawaiian."

In January 1998, the Child Care Bureau awarded a contract to a Native American 8(a) contractor to strengthen child care services for Native American children and families. Technical assistance under this contract will support Indian Tribes and tribal organizations in their efforts to increase the availability and quality of child care, develop more coordinated delivery systems, promote linkages with State and local programs, and improve child care opportunities for families, providers and tribal communities.

The contractor will assist tribal grantees in child care capacity building efforts through the following major activities: a toll-free information and referral line; a database of promising tribal models; a software package for data reporting and program management; a tribal child care home page; a quarterly newsletter; an annual tribal conference; and on-site technical assistance on issues that have been identified by tribal grantees.

4. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

I. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA):

NIEA is pleased that the BIA's FY1999 budget for School Operations includes a $26.5 million increase over 1998. The $486.8 million investment in American Indian youth who attend BIA schools reflects the Administration's commitment to the Government-to-Government relationship that exists. The BIA educates approximately 12 percent of the American Indian K-12 population.

A. Tribal Priority Allocations (TPA):

1. Adult Education. Adult Education continues to be one of the most underfunded Indian education programs despite the fact that it is desperately needed to enable adult Indians who did not finish high school to obtain their General Educational Development (GED) degree. The program's funding levels over the past 3 years have fluctuated with the FY1999 request of $2.7 million the highest it has ever been. The BIA estimates that approximately 20,000 Indian adults participate in the program.

NIEA believes the adult education program needs to be funded at no less than $4 million annually. The elimination in 1996 of the Adult Education Program in the Department of Education's Office of Indian Education (OIE), puts a strain on the limited resources of the BIA and does little to focus financial attention on Indian adults who do not live on reservations. Older Indian adults tend to not attend state-operated programs and are more comfortable with Indian instructors.

2. Johnson-O'Malley (JOM) Program. The FY1999 request is $18 million, an $864,000 increase over the FY1998 level. The highest level the JOM program has received this decade was in FY1995 when it was funded $24.359 million. NIEA supports funding for JOM at a level of $24 million to meet the increasing student population. The JOM program provides supplemental educational services for 272,000 American Indian students in 23 states.

3. Scholarships. NIEA supports the FY1999 request of $29 million for undergraduate scholarships for American Indians, which represents a $488,000 increase over FY1998. One of NEA's major priorities is to increase funding for all postsecondary education programs for American Indians and Alaska Natives. The needs of Indian students pursuing postsecondary education are often neglected, especially when critically-needed programs are cut or eliminated such as the Department of Education's Office of Indian Education Fellowship Program. As mentioned below, funding for BIA's only graduate level scholarship program has operated at half funding capacity for four consecutive years.


B. Other Programs


1. Indian School Equalization Program (ISEP) Formula. The President's FY 1999 request is $308.5 million for this program, which provides formula-based funding for 185 BIA-operated, grant, and contract elementary and secondary schools. This amount, representing a $14.8 million increase over FY 1998, would provide $3,125 per Weighted Student Unit (WSU) compared to $3,009 per WSU in school year 1997-98. NIEA continues to support a funding level of $3,500 per WSU - a number we have proposed since FY 1993. The proposed $3,125 per WSU is still far below the average per student expenditure by public elementary and secondary schools, an amount reported by the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to be $7,317 per student in school year 1996-97.


2. Family and Child Education (FACE) Program. NIEA supports the FY 1999 request of $5.5 million for BIA's early childhood development program. The FY 1999 funding level represents a $42,000 increase over 1998, which previously had not increased for three years. We request that the FACE program be funded at the FY 1995 level of $6.5 million. Currently there are 22 FACE sites, however the BIA could use a FACE program at each of its elementary schools if the program were sufficiently funded.

3. Student Transportation. NIEA supports the FY 1999 request for $36.5 million for student transportation. In FY 1997-98 the BIA-funded transportation cost was $1.98 per mile with 15,197 miles (School Year 1996-1997) driven for day and boarding schools. According to the latest School Bus Fleet information, the national average for student transportation costs in school year 1993-94 was $2.94 per mile for public schools. Therefore, the BIA-funded schools, which are located primarily in rural, isolated areas, are at least $.96 below the national per mile average.

4. Administrative Cost Grants. NIEA supports the FY 1999 request for Administrative Cost Grants of $46.69 million. At least 10 of the remaining 49 BIA-operated schools an the Navajo Nation have indicated that they will convert to grant status after July, 1997. The conversion cost is projected at $4.6 million. The need for additional Administrative Cost Grants has been increasingly evident as more schools convert from BIA to tribal control. Therefore, the BIA may need another $1.6 million for this conversion.

5. Education Facilities Operation and Maintenance (O&M). The FY 1999 request for Facilities O&M is $77.4 million, a $2.7 million increase over FY1998. Although NIEA supports this request, we are concerned that the total backlog of education construction projects is estimated at over $800 million, an increase of approximately $140 million since 1998.

6. Tribal Departments of Education. Although no funding is provided in the President's budget, NIEA recommends at least $3 million for tribal departments of education, which are authorized by P.L. 103-382, the "Improving America's Schools Act." We believe that sufficient funding should be provided to assist tribes in planning and developing their own centralized tribal administrative entities to accomplish the original intent of the 1994 Act. This would be appropriate given the recent trend to convert more and more schools from BIA to Tribal control.


C. Tribally Controlled Community Colleges


1. Tribal Colleges/Post Secondary Schools. The President's FY1999 request for Tribally-Controlled Community Colleges is $35.4 million, a $5.5 million increase over FY1998 and represents a substantial increase over previous years. NIEA supports the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) recommendation of $37.4 million which provides for an additional $2 million for TCCC Operating Grants. NIEA also supports an additional $2 million for tribal college endowments, $2 million for economic development, and $1.8 million for emergency facility repair and renovations and $214,000 for Technical Assistance grants in the FY1999 budget.




In addition, tribal community colleges have never received facilities construction or renovation/repair money from the BIA. The national average for Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) funding at mainstream community colleges is approximately $6,200 per year. The level of FM funding for some special population colleges is approximately three times that which is provided to the tribal colleges.

While NIEA supports the Administration's proposal to increase funding for the tribal colleges, we bring to your attention that the Administration's budget would actually reduce funding for the United Tribes Technical College (UTTC), by taking away the increase it received last year. We ask this Committee to recommend a FY1999 funding level for UTTC which is at least equal to its FY1998 enacted level of $2.35 million. Until FY1998 BIA funding for UTTC had increased only 1.06 percent over an 8-year period. Like the tribal colleges (who receive their BIA funding under the Tribally Controlled Community Colleges Act - UTTC does not). UTTC has a very high job placement rate (over 85%) and is a tribally operated , campus-based, postsecondary vocational institution which also administers a nursery, pre-school, elementary school, and health clinic for its students and faculty.

Furthermore, NIEA supports the separate funding levels in FY1998 for Bureau-funded post secondary vocational institutions. This includes Haskell Indian Nations University at $11.6 million, Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) at $4.6 million, the Institute for American Indian Arts (IAIA) at $4.25 million, and the United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) at $2.5 million.

D. Special Programs and Pooled Overhead


1. Graduate Scholarships. The Administration request for Graduate Scholarships in FY1999 is $1.33 million, which is the same as the past four fiscal years. This program is the primary funding source for American and Alaska Native graduate students and is totally inadequate to help these individuals meet the costs of an advanced degree. The program, which is administered by the American Indian Graduate Center (AIGC) of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been underfunded for the last 4 years. For school year 1997-98, the actual unmet need was $5.7 million. During the 1996-97 school year, the program funded an estimated 378 students with an average award of $3,955. Because of reduced funding, scholarship awards are being drastically reduced while the demand for these limited scholarship funds increase. This program funds students in 27 states with 128 tribes represented. No other federal graduate level scholarship program, specifically for American Indian students, currently exists.


E. Education Construction


1. Replacement School Construction. NIEA supports the FY1999 request of $37.4 million for Replacement School Construction, which is $18.2 million more 1998. These funds are earmarked to complete construction of the Seba Dalkai School, the Sac and Fox Settlement School and the Pyramid Lake High School. NIEA supports this request as the Interior Department strives to make a targeted approach to the severe backlog of construction projects at Indian education facilities.

2. Education Facilities Improvement and Repair (FI&R). NIEA supports the FY1999 request of $46.2 million, which is $14 million over the 1998 appropriation. The backlog under this program, however, is $682 million which would take fifteen years to complete at the current rate of funding. NIEA urges the Committee to consider additional, or supplemental funding, in order to clear up this situation.


F. Institute of American Indian Arts. NIEA is concerned that proposed funding for the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is being terminated with the last year for appropriations in FY1999. We support continued funding for IAIA and request the Committee's support in continuing this institution for another five years (through the year 2005). This institution has been in existence for 35 years and is the only facility solely dedicated to the arts for American Indians and Alaska Natives. NIEA feels that the efforts the management at IAIA have recently exhibited demonstrates their commitment to keeping this valuable institution a part of the American Indian culture.


5. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

1. DOL Indian Education-Related Programs:

A. Job Training Partnership Act. The Administration's FY1999 request of $53.8 million represents a $1.3 million increase over 1998. This funding covers Section 401, Native American Program of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). The funding would support the program in JTPA Program Year 1999, starting July 1^st of next year. This program is designed to improve the economic well-being of Native Americans through the provisions of training, work experience, and other employment-related services and opportunities that are intended to aid the participants to secure permanent, unsubsidized jobs. This program is critical to both reservation and urban grantees who are largely unskilled, poorly educated, and living in poverty. We, therefore, request the Congress to support funding of this important program at its FY1995 enacted level of $65 million.

B. Summer Youth Employment. NIEA supports the Administration's FY 1999 request of $87l million for the Summer Youth Employment Program. The Indian set-aside is approximately $15.8 million which is level funded at the FY1998 amount. On most Indian reservations this program provides the only means of employing young Indian men and women who are vulnerable to a myriad of economic and social ills such as drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy and fatherhood, and unemployment due to little or no job skills, as well as being at a higher risk of dropping out of school, at attempting suicide, due to the lack of positive, constructive activities and facilities to improve their self-esteem and give them hope for their future.


C. Other Department of Labor Programs. NIEA is aware of other Department of Labor programs which have the potential of reaching Indian tribes. These programs include: Adult Training; Dislocated Workers; Youth Training; Job Corps; School-to-Work; Opportunity Areas for Out-of-School Youth; and National Programs. Their combined total for FY1999 is $5.3 billion. NIEA recommends that these programs make a concerted effort to target the American Indian population, even if their authorizing legislation does not require them to do so.



In conclusion, we want to thank the Committee for continuing to give its attention to the issues and concerns we have raised in our testimony. In light of the federal government's trust responsibility for the education of all American Indians and Alaska Natives, and on behalf of our members, we urge the Committee's support for maintaining or increasing the funding for the Indian education and related programs discussed herein at the levels we have recommended.