$31.0 Definitions.

As used in this part:

(a) School district means the local unit of school administration as defined by the laws of the State in which it is located.

(b) Cooperative school means a school operated under a cooperative agreement between a school district and the Bureau of Indian Affairs in conformance with State and Federal school laws and regulations.

(35 Stat. 72, 25 U.S.C. 295) [33 FR 6472, Apr. 27, 1968]

$31.1 Enrollment in Federal schools.

(a) Enrollment in Bureau-operated schools is available to children of onefourth or more degree of Indian blood = reside within the exterior boundaries of Indian reservations under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs or on trust or restricted lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs except when there are other appropriate school facilities available to them as hereinafter provided in paragraph (c) of this section.

(b) Enrollment in Bureau-operated boarding schools may also be available to children of one-fourth or more degree of Indian blood who reside near the reservation when a denial of such enrollment would have a direct effect upon Bureau programs within the reservation.

(c) Children of Federal employees, whether Indian or non-Indian, are

deemed eligible on the same basis as other eligible students for enrollment at facilities provided by the school district (including cooperative schools) wherein they reside.

(35 Stat. 72, 25 U.S.C. 295)

[33 FR 6473, Apr. 27, 1968; 33 FR 6968, May 9, 1968]

$31.2 Use of Federal school facilities.

Federal Indian school facilities may be used for community activities and for adult education activities upon approval by the superintendent or officer in charge.

§31.3 Non-Indian pupils in

schools.

Indian

Indian and non-Indian children who are not eligible for enrollment in Bureau-operated schools under §31.1 may be enrolled in such schools under the following conditions:

(a) In boarding schools upon payment of tuition fees, which shall not exceed the per capita cost of maintenance in the school attended, when their presence will not exclude Indian pupils eligible under §31.1.

(b) In day schools in areas where there are no other adequate free school facilities available, tuition fees may be charged for such enrollment at the discretion of the superintendent or other officer in charge provided such fees shall not exceed the tuition fees allowed or charged by the State or county in which such school is located for the children admitted in the public schools of such State or county.

(34 Stat. 1018, 35 Stat. 783, 40 Stat. 564; 25 U.S.C. 288, 289, 297)

[29 FR 5828, May 2, 1964]

§31.4 Compulsory attendance.

Compulsory school attendance of Indian children is provided for by law. (60 Stat. 962; 25 U.S.C. 231)

CROSS REFERENCE: For penalties for the failure of Indians to send children to school and for contributing to the delinquency of minors, see §§11.65 and 11.66 of this chapter.

§31.5 Consent for transfer.

Consent of the parents or next of kin, given before the superintendent or other duly authorized person, must be obtained before an Indian child is sent to a school beyond the limits of the State or Territory in which the reservation is located.

(Sec. 1, 28 Stat. 906; 25 U.S.C. 286)

§31.6 Coercion prohibited.

There shall be no coercion of children in the matter of transfers from one school to another, but voluntary enrollment should be effected through maintenance of Federal Indian schools or programs which suit the needs and interests of the areas in which they are located.

(Sec. 1, 29 Stat. 348; 25 U.S.C. 287)

§31.7 Handling of student funds in Federal school facilities.

The Secretary or his authorized representative may authorize officials and employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to accept and to disburse deposits of funds of students and student activity associations in schools operated by the Bureau in accordance with the purposes of such deposits. The following steps shall be taken to safeguard these funds:

(a) A written plan of operation shall be developed by the membership of each student activity group. The plan of operation subject to the approval of authorized officials shall outline procedures and provide for a system of accounting for the student funds commensurate with the age and grade level of the students yet adequate for financial control purposes and shall stipulate the maximum operating capital of activity.

(b) Appropriate safekeeping facilities shall be provided for all student personal and group funds and for the accounting or bookkeeping records.

(c) Employees handling student funds in cumulative amounts in excess of $100 shall be covered by a comprehensive fidelity bond the penal sum of which shall be appropriately related to fund amounts handled.

(d) Student funds accumulated in excess of the amount authorized for operating purposes by the plan of operation

§ 32.2 Definitions.

As used in this part, the term:

(a) Agency School Board means a body, the members of which are appointed by the school boards of the schools located within such agency, and the number of such members shall be determined by the Director in consultation with the affected Tribes or Alaska Native entities except that, in agencies serving a single school, the school board of such school shall fulfill these duties.

(b) Alaska Native means an Indian, Eskimo, or Aleut who is a member of an Alaska Native entity.

(c) Alaska Native Entity means any Alaska Native village or regional or village corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (85 Stat. 688; 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).

(d) Alaska Native Village means any Native village as defined in section 3(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (85 Stat. 689; 43 U.S.C. 1602 (c)).

(e) Boarding school, hereinafter referred to as residential school, means a Bureau school offering residential care and support services as well as an academic program.

(f) Bureau means the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior.

(g) Consultation means a conferring process with Tribes, Alaska Native entities, and Tribal organizations on a periodic and systematic basis in which the Bureau and Department officials listen to and give effect, to the extent they can, to the views of these entities.

(h) Contract school means a school (other than a public school) which is Tribally operated and aided by a financial assistance contract with the Bureau.

(i) Day school means a Bureau school offering an academic program and certain support services such as counseling, food, transportation, etc., but excluding residential care.

(j) Director means the Director, Office of Indian Education Programs, Bureau of Indian Affairs.

(k) Early childhood education means comprehensive education activities with continuity of educational approach for children ages 0-8 years and their familes, appropriate for their age, development, language and culture which supplement and support usual family responsibilities for child growth and development. They are coordinated with, but do not supplant, existing educational, health, nutritional, social and other necessary services.

(1) Exceptional Education Programs mean the provision of services to those children who are identified as handicapped and have been found to meet the criteria of handicapped as defined in Pub. L. 94-142, and programs for gifted and talented students.

(m) Indian means a member of an Indian Tribe.

(n) Indian Organization means any group, association, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity owned or controlled by a federally recognized Indian Tribe or Tribes, or a majority of whose members are members of federally recognized Indian Tribes.

(0) Indian Tribe or Tribe means any Indian Tribe, band, nation, rancheria, pueblo, colony, or community which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians.

(p) Local school board, when used with respect to a Bureau school, means a body chosen in accordance with the laws of the Tribe or Alaska Native entity to be served or, in the absence of such laws, elected by the parents of the Indian children attending the school. except that in schools serving a substantial number of students from different Tribes or Alaska Native entities the members shall be appointed by the governing bodies of the Tribes and entities affected; and, the number of such members shall be determined by the Director in consultation with the affected Tribes and entities.

(q) Post-secondary education means any education program beyond the age of compulsory education, including higher education, career, vocational, and technical.

(r) Tribal Organization means an organization composed of or duly representing Tribal governments which may be national or regional in scope and function.

§ 32.3 Mission statement.

Recognizing the special rights of Indian Tribes and Alaska Native entities and the unique government-to-government relationship of Indian Tribes and Alaska Native villages with the Federal Government as affirmed by the United States Constitution, U.S. Supreme Court decisions, treaties, Federal statutes, and Executive Orders, and as set out in the Congressional declaration in sections 2 and 3 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (Pub. L. 93-638; 88 Stat. 2203; 25 U.S.C. 450 and 450a), it is the responsibility and goal of the Federal

government to provide comprehensive education programs and services for Indians and Alaska Natives. As acknowledged in section 5 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-608; 92 Stat. 3069; 25 U.S.C. 1901), in the Federal Government's protection and preservation of Indian Tribes and Alaska Native villages and their resources, there is no resource more vital to such Tribes and villages than their young people and the Federal Government has a direct interest, as trustee, in protecting Indian and Alaska Native children, including their education. The mission of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Indian Education Programs, is to provide quality education opportunities from early childhood through life in accordance with the Tribes' needs for cultural and economic well-being in keeping with the wide diversity of Indian Tribes and Alaska Native villages as distinct cultural and governmental entities. The Bureau shall manifest consideration of the whole person, taking into account the spiritual, mental, physical and cultural aspects of the person within family and Tribal or Alaska Native village contexts.

§ 32.4 Policies.

In carrying out its Education mission, the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs through the Director shall:

(a) Policy making. (1) Assure that no new policy shall be established nor any existing policy changed or modified without consultation with affected Tribes and Alaska Native Government entities.

(2) Be guided in policy formulation and funding priorities, including the proposing and awarding of contracts and grants, by periodic and systematic consultation with governing bodies of Tribes and Alaska Native entities.

(3) Ensure that Indian Tribes and Alaska Native entities fully exercise self-determination and control in planning, priority-setting, development, management, operation, staffing and evaluation in all aspects of the education process.

(4) Ensure that each agency or local school board shall be authorized and empowered to function as the policy making body for the school, consistent with the authority granted by the

tribes or Alaska Native entity(ies) served by the school(s).

(b) Student rights. Ensure the constitutional, statutory, civil and human rights of all Indian and Alaska Native students, and respect the role of Tribal judicial systems where appropriate including, for example, ensuring that students have the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment and that all disciplinary procedures shall be consistent with appropriate customs and practices of the appropriate Indian Tribe or Alaska Native village.

(c) Equity funding. Assure that resources for all education programs are equitably distributed for the benefit of all Indian and Alaska Native students, taking into account special educational needs where they exist, as further described in part 39 of this subchapter.

(d) Direction of programs. Ensure that the education function be structured in such a manner that all matters relating to the operation of education programs be administered by or be under the direction of education personnel.

(e) Respect for family. Promote, respect and defend the cohesiveness and integrity of the family, and Tribal and Alaska Native community, as they relate to the educational and social prerogatives of the Tribes and Alaska Native entities.

(f) Religious freedom. Promote and respect the right to cultural practices and religious freedom for all students, consistent with Tribal and Alaska Native entities' wishes and with the provisions of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (92 Stat. 469; Pub. L. 95-341; 42 U.S.C. 1996).

(g) Tribal rights regarding governing bodies and planning. (1) Develop in consultation with Tribes and Alaska Native entities a plan to include their direct involvement in short and longrange planning of Bureau operated post-secondary schools through the formation of policy making governing boards.

(2) Encourage and defend the right of the Tribes and Alaska Native entities to govern their own internal affairs in all matters relating to education, and their right to determine the equitable and appropriate composition of govern

ing boards at Bureau off-reservation and post-secondary schools.

(h) Multilingual education. Provide for a comprehensive multicultural and multilingual educational program including the production and use of instructional materials, culturally appropriate methodologies and teaching and learning strategies that will reinforce, preserve and maintain Indian and Alaska Native languages, cultures, and histories which school boards, Tribes and Alaska Native entities may utilize at their discretion.

(i) Choice of school. Afford Indian and Alaska Native students the opportunity to attend local day schools and other schools of choice and the option to attend boarding schools when the student and parent or guardian determine it is in the student's best interest and consistent with the provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-608) except that, residential schools shall not be used as substitutes for providing adequate local family social services. Each school shall establish its attendance area in cooperation with neighboring schools.

(j) Tribal education plans. Assist Tribes and Alaska Native entities at their request in the development of Departments of Education, education codes, and comprehensive education plans.

(k) Advocacy and coordination. (1) Serve as an advocate for Indian Tribes and Alaska Native entities in education matters before the Federal, State and local governments.

(2) Assume an assertive role in coordinating comprehensive support for Indian and Alaska Native students internally and from other agencies in education, mental and physical health, juvenile justice, job training, including apprenticeship programs and other related Federal, State and local programs and services.

(3) Serve as an advocate and carry out responsibilities for Indian and Alaska Native students in public and other non-Bureau operated schools consistent with the wishes of the appropriate Indian Tribes and Alaska Native entities, particularly in regard to Impact Aid (Pub. L. 81-874), JohnsonO'Malley, and all Elementary and Secondary Education Act programs.

(1) Student assessment. Establish and maintain a program of research and development to provide accurate and culturally specific assessment instruments to measure student performance in cooperation with Tribes and Alaska Native entities.

(m) Recruitment of Indians. Adopt procedures to insure that qualified Indian and Alaska Native educators are recruited for positions appropriate to their cultural background and qualifications.

(n) Priorities in contracts and grants. Provide financial support through contracts, grants or other funding mecha nisms with first priority given to the Tribes and Alaska Native entities, Tribal organizations, Tribally controlled community colleges, and Indian or Alaska Native professional or technical assistance organizations which have the sanction of the benefitting Tribes and Alaska Native entities.

(0) Community school concept. Promote the community school concept by encouraging year around multi-use of educational facilities, equipment and services for Tribal, Alaska Native village, and community development.

(p) Education close to home. Provide day and residential educational services as close to an Indian or Alaska Native student's home as possible, except when a student elects to attend a school elsewhere for specialized curricular offerings or services.

(q) Tribal notification and involvement and program flexibility. (1) Notify Indian Tribes and Alaska Native entities of proposed, pending or final Federal legislation, appropriations, Solicitor's and Attorney General's opinions and court decisions affecting Indian and Alaska Native education for the purposes of information and consultation, providing them ready access at the local level to all evaluations, data records, reports and other relevant information, consistent with the provisions of the Privacy and Freedom of Information Acts.

(2) Implement rules, regulations, procedures, practices, and standards to insure flexibility in the exercise of local Tribal or Alaska Native village options, and provide for input in periodic reviews, evaluations, and revisions to meet changing needs and cir

cumstances.