Insert 65A4 Additionally, staff of OIE are working with an informal interagency committee to conduct a policy review of each agency's Indian programs, and they also have membership on the White House Task Force on Indian Affairs, which meets monthly. The Task Force is chaired by Mary McClure, Special Assistant to the President for Indian Affairs. Director of the Office of Indian Education The remaining issues raised in your letters concern the administration of the Office of Indian Education namely, 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 personally interviewed each candidate and submitted my recommendation 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. Staffing the Office of Indian Education 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 24th. There were eligible Indian applicants for each vacancy. Indian Preference 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 non-Indian 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 are currently applying the preference policies in filling all the vacancies. On a personal note, Mr. Chairman, two 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 Insert 65A5 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. Commitment of the Secretary 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 travelled 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 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 also 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 one 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. Insert 70A COMPARISON OF HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING FOR INDIANS AND In Most of the Department of Education's funding for Indians is for elementary and secondary education programs. Some activities are focused on postsecondary education, however. These include the Educational Personnel Development (fiscal year 1990 appropriation of $2,231,000) and Fellowship (fiscal year 1990 appropriation of $1,587,000) activities under the Indian Education program. addition, for the past five years, grants totalling $2.1-2.4 million per year have been awarded to Indian colleges and universities under the Developing Institutions program. Indian higher education institutions are also eligible for grants under the Minority Science Improvement program. The Bureau of Indian Affairs also provides some $30 million annually for Indian institutions for higher education, including funding for the Tribally Controlled Community Colleges. These sums compare to 1990 appropriations of $182.4 million for Howard University, $36.1 million for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, and $67.6 million for Gallaudet University. Insert 73A DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS FUNDING FOR BIA SCHOOLS For fiscal year 1989, State grants under the Drug-Free Schools and Communities program provided a total of $198,978,500 to SEAs and LEAS in 52 States. These grants provided an average of approxitely $4.38 per student enrolled in all public and private elementary and secondary schools in the States. In comparison, the $3,475,000 transferred to the BIA for the Program for Indian Youth amounted to an average of approximately $88.24 per student enrolled in all BIA schools. This is in response to your letter of November 13, 1989, to Acting If the office of Legislation can be of additional assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, hamamy Nancy Mohr Kennedy 400 MARYLAND AVE., S.W. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20202 |