The remaining issues addressed in your letters, Mr. Chairman, concern the administration of the Office of Indian Educationnamely, appointment of a director for the office, filling other staff positions, and implementing new statutory provisions that require the application of Indian preference.

The Director of the Office of Indian Education is a career position in the Senior Executive Service. Following the death of the previous director, Mr. John Sam, the Department advertised the position and evaluated the applications in accordance with Office of Personnel Management procedures. Next, as required by the Indian Education Act, a list of qualified applicants was submitted to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education, which in turn gave the Department its recommendations.

I would like to break from these prepared remarks to return the gracious comments that Jo Jo Hunt made about the activities of the Acting Assistant Secretary and the Acting Director of Indian Education. She has been most gracious herself in our dealings with her.

I personally interviewed each candidate and submitted my recommendations to the Secretary. At this point, we received a number of allegations concerning some of the candidates. These allegations were turned over to the Department's Office of Inspector General for investigation. The hiring procedures have been suspended until the investigations are complete. Secretary Cavazos and I are quite anxious to have this position filled, and we are working diligently toward that end.

On the matter of fully staffing the Office of Indian Education, we are moving ahead and expect to have choices made on several newly created mid-level management positions next month. Selection certificates were submitted to us on Tuesday, October 24. There were eligible Indian applicants for each vacancy.

As you know, the reauthorized Indian Education Act of 1988 requires the Department to apply Indian preference in filling all positions in the Office of Indian Education. It also requires that nonIndian members of the staff be given a one-time preference when they apply for positions outside the office. Because we have had no previous experience in implementing such preferences and because the legal ramifications are complicated, it has taken a while to develop the policies and procedures to implement the new requirements. However, we have done that and we are currently applying the preference policies in filling all of the vacancies.

On a personal note, Mr. Chairman, 2 years ago the Department of Education was very fortunate to hire Mr. John Sam as Director of the Office of Indian Education. Mr. Sam brought to that position a wealth of experience and talent, as well as a deep and personal understanding of the educational needs of Indian children and adults.

Because he believed that the office was not administratively organized to produce the best possible delivery of services, Mr. Sam proposed a new organizational structure. Among other things, that new structure created several badly needed mid-level management positions that will help put the office on a sounder management footing and will provide opportunities for professional growth among Office of Indian Education employees. Although John died

before he was able to hire new staff, it is his reorganization that we are implementing, and the positions for that reorganization that we are in the process of filling.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to close by assuring you that Secretary Cavazos has placed the improvement of educational opportunities for Indian students high on his list of priorities. In fact, soon after becoming Secretary, he and Interior Secretary Lujan traveled west together to visit schools attended by Indian children.

Secretary Cavazos returned convinced that a tremendous amount of work and commitment is necessary if we are to improve learning conditions for these children. He is also convinced that cooperation between our two agencies is essential. We believe that we are establishing a good record of cooperation and coordination with the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs.

We have negotiated memoranda of agreement to transfer funds under the Drug-Free Schools Act, chapter 1, and other programs to bring the benefits of these programs to children attending BIA and contract schools. The Office of Indian Education has been working closely with the Office of Indian Education Programs at the BIA, and this year for the first time, as required under new provisions in our reauthorized legislation, we have transferred $2.6 million to BIA schools for supplemental services under subpart 1 of the Indian Education Act. We are making every effort to back up these dollars with technical assistance services from our staff and our five regional resource centers.

Mr. Chairman, I have given you an overview of programs within the Department of Education that benefit Indian children and I have tried to address each of the concerns of the committee as stated in your letters to Secretary Cavazos. My colleagues and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

[Prepared statement of Mr. Bonner appears in appendix.]

The CHAIRMAN. I thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. I realize that the Inspector General has not submitted his report as of this moment. Do you have any indication as to when this report may be forthcoming?

Mr. BONNER. I fear to tell you that I do not. The Inspectors General are an independent lot, as you know. We have let it be known that we are most interested in having a speedy resolution.

The CHAIRMAN. Several of the witnesses in the first panel were quite concerned that Indian schools are not eligible as local education agencies for programs which benefit other schools in that area. Why is that so?

Mr. BONNER. I believe—in the context of Even Start?

The CHAIRMAN. Yes.

Mr. BONNER. If I am not mistaken, Even Start is what has brought this matter to a head.

The schools are not considered within the framework of the statutory definition of local educational agencies. To the extent that they are not, they are, you might say, by an unfortunate application of definition, unfortunate but necessary in the circumstances, not considered eligible.

The CHAIRMAN. Apparently that definition hampers their receipt of benefits in other programs, too, isn't that correct?

Mr. BONNER. Yes sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Have you made any attempt to amend the definition so that Indian schools may qualify?

Mr. BONNER. Addressing the Even Start situation, I would say this much. An effort is being made now to repair this. It was brought to the attention, of course, of the Department.

The Department has conferred very carefully, long and hard about the exclusionary nature, which in Public Law 100-297 may very well have been a totally unfortunate oversight. The minute that came to light, we began to work, and I understand that Congress has been working hard to see what can be done about the matter.

I would invite Tom Corwin to make further remarks on that.

Mr. CORWIN. As members of the previous panel noted, we have worked with some of the Indian groups on developing statutory language that could be introduced as an amendment to the Even Start legislation. We are also developing a program by program listing for all the 180 to 200 programs that we have in the Department, showing the status of different entities that serve Indians, such as the BIA schools and the tribal contract schools.

We are not quite finished with that yet. When it is completed, I do not believe that there is going to be a finding that there are major programs in the Department for which Indians cannot participate. As you go across the list from chapter 1 to special education, rehabilitation services, and so forth, generally, Indian children and adults are served through the general State programs. Those in the BIA schools are often served through a special setaside that is transferred to the BIA.

But we are working on that. We are taking a careful look at our programs, and we will finish it pretty shortly.

The CHAIRMAN. Is it possible to cure this problem administratively, or do we have to go through the statutory route?

Mr. CORWIN. Our opinion is that it will take an amendment in the Even Start legislation. This went to very high levels in our General Counsel's Office. Our senior lawyers looked at it and found that, clearly, the Indians were not eligible. So technical assistance or administrative changes would not have done it.

The CHAIRMAN. As you noted, all of the panelists were concerned about vacancies. How many positions are authorized in the Office of Indian Education?

Mr. BONNER. There are 45.

The CHAIRMAN. Of that number, how many are vacant at this time?

Mr. BONNER. At this time, 17 sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Of the 28 positions that are presently filled, how many are filled by Indians?

Mr. BONNER. I believe the number is five.

Mr. SHEDD. That's right. Counting the acting director, it is five. The CHAIRMAN. What sort of positions are these? Are they administrative, mid-level, or clerical?

Mr. SHEDD. You have the acting director, the staff assistant to the director, two education specialists, and one clerical.

The CHAIRMAN. I have just been told by you, Mr. Secretary, that these positions are now in the process of being filled. Do you believe that this level of Indian involvement will increase?

Mr. BONNER. Emphatically so.

Mr. CORWIN. We are following the provisions of Indian preference that were added to the law in 1988.

Mr. SHEDD. And, Mr. Chairman, we advertised these seven midlevel positions a second time and doubled the number of Indian applicants that are eligible.

Mr. BONNER. It is a matter of what one understands to be the total commitment in the Department to making that Indian preference provision work, and that is total.

The CHAIRMAN. From your vantage point, what do you consider the role of the council that Ms. Hunt is Executive Director of? What role does it play in relation to your office?

Mr. BONNER. It provides to us its expert knowledge of the Indian communities, most specifically, Indian education, the concerns, the needs, and what it feels on the basis of its consultation with the Indian community to be remedies that could be applied by the Department in carrying out its mandate. It has a very sharply defined role with respect to its advisory function concerning the position of the Director of Indian Education. I think it has been noted here by Jo Jo Hunt that the advisory role was carried out sedulously by the Department.

The CHAIRMAN. Am I correct that the selection of the director will be made from a list submitted by this Council?

Mr. BONNER. The Department is reviewing the list that was presented to it by NACIE.

The CHAIRMAN. And the selection will be made from one of those on that list?

Mr. BONNER. We understand that to be the import of the statute as of now.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there any comparison between the amount spent for higher education among Indians and those for federallysubsidized schools such as Gallaudet, Howard, and places like that? Mr. BONNER. We will have to submit that information to you for the record, Mr. Chairman.

[Information appears in Mr. Bonner's prepared statement in appendix.]

The CHAIRMAN. I would appreciate learning of that.

I must confess that I have not had the opportunity to study in great detail that statement that you have submitted and the data that you have submitted, but upon my study, may I submit questions to you based upon such study?

Mr. BONNER. Certainly, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Some of the panelists were quite concerned with a lack of data. Am I correct to assume that you are now in the process of collecting these data?

Mr. BONNER. The machinery is being set up. That is, we are presently at the creation, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. What sort of data will you be collecting?

Mr. BONNER. It is a matter of information that has been referred to by the members of the panel earlier-why don't we know more about the dropout rate among Indians, and what are the contributory factors of that? What are the cultural components that we could quantify that make for success in Indian education at the present time?

Mr. CORWIN. Beyond the dropout rate, I think we want to look at the completion rate at the college level in different fields and in graduate school. We have some data on that, but at this point it is quite old. There is a lot more that we need to know.

The CHAIRMAN. What sort of programs do you have for the Indian schools on the Drug-Free program?

Mr. CORWIN. Under the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, each year we transfer one percent of our appropriation to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be allocated among Bureau-operated and Bureau-funded schools. We have a memorandum of understanding with them, but they basically handle the administration of the program.

The CHAIRMAN. It is just to BIA schools? What about the tribally-controlled schools? Do they receive any funds?

Mr. CORWIN. I believe that all of them are so-called BIA contract schools, and also receive funding under that set-aside.

Mr. SHEDD. In addition, Mr. Chairman, under the formula grant program, many schools have a drug-free curriculum. Under Higher Education, the Education Personnel Development Program, we have some training going on in the area of counseling, having to do with drug-free curriculum and practices in the schools. So we get it from the Higher Education activities as well as through the formula grants.

The CHAIRMAN. How does this compare percentage-wise with other school systems? You said that one percent of the funds would go to BIA.

Mr. CORWIN. We would have to give you exact numbers for the record, but as I recall, the per pupil amount that the BIA schools are receiving is several times as high as what the public schools are receiving through the formula grants under the Drug-Free Schools program.

[Information appears in Mr. Bonner's prepared statement in appendix.]

The CHAIRMAN. Do we have any analysis as to its effectiveness, or is it too early?

Mr. CORWIN. It is too early. In fact, some of the first year awards under the program were only distributed by the BIA to its schools late this summer and even in September, prior to the close of the fiscal year.

The CHAIRMAN.

I am certain that the Indian community is pleased to learn that as soon as the IG's report comes in, you would be ready to appoint a director and that the mid-level positions and the other vacancies will be filled in a timely fashion.

Mr. BONNER. Yes sir.

Mr. SHEDD. They surely will.

The CHAIRMAN. Would that mean in about 1 month?

Mr. SHEDD. About the end of November for the mid-level positions.

Mr. BONNER. As I said, I cannot commit the IG to when its review will be at an end.

The CHAIRMAN. How many names have been submitted for the directorship? I am just curious.