Department of Education hands off key programs without consulting tribes as required

Recent Department of Education shifts will transfer 24 programs serving Indian Country to the Department of the Interior, a move that tribal leaders say they weren’t consulted about.

Native-specific programs such as Title VI, Native Language programming, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Education, and tribal college-related programs, will move to the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The move is already underway, following the announcement on Nov. 18 amid continued efforts from the Trump Administration to begin to dismantle the Department of Education.

These changes will have significant impacts on the nation’s education system, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium said in a statement on Nov. 18.

“There should have been consultation then and there needs to be consultation now,” said Moriah O’Brien, the consortium’s vice president of congressional and federal relations.

In accordance with Executive Order 13175, the Department of Education must consult with tribal nations regarding any proposed regulation with tribal implications. According to the order, consultation should be done in a mutual effort to collaborate and cooperate on finding a good-faith solution in a timely manner. Tribes are to be given a 30-day notice to provide comments and prepare for formal consultation activities.

Earlier this year, career and technical education program administration was transferred to the Department of Labor, and the latest agreements also involve the State Department and the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services.

Other programs that aren’t explicitly targeted toward Indian education but do impact Native students were moved to the Department of Labor on Nov. 18, including Title I, which provides funding to districts in high-poverty areas, and Title VI, rural education funding.

“All of this is just so much new information, and we weren’t told or consulted ahead of time,” said Julia Wakeford, Muscogee/Yuchi, the legislative and federal policy director for the National Indian Education Association. “Not knowing is not the biggest problem. Not getting a chance to consent and consult is the biggest problem.”

These changes are happening rapidly, Wakeford said, something that has caused even more stress for tribal leaders as they work to figure out what these changes look like for their communities.

Changes earlier this year gave some indication that the Department of Education would continue to be restructured and eventually even dismantled, but leaders weren’t aware these particular changes were set to happen on Nov. 18, Wakeford said.

“We had stayed in good conversation with the administration, and I know some tribes had had some good conversations with the Office of Management and Budget, but we didn’t know specifically, and more importantly, tribes didn’t get a chance to control consult officially,” she said.

Current funding levels for affected programs will be protected and maintained, according to the White House.

“(It’s) all hands on deck, trying to figure out exactly what the impacts are going to be, and then also trying to work with the administration and make sure that there are no lapses in programming during this transition,” Wakeford said. “And so far, we’ve gotten some good responses from the administration, so we’re going to keep pushing on.”

Organizations like NIEA and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium are carefully monitoring the changes and working closely to identify potential problems and solutions.

For now, AIHEC is focusing on making sure that eligibility and access to resources, program support and technical assistance are all available for tribal colleges and universities regardless of the changes happening in the White House.

“We don’t want to lose any of that knowledge and support,” O’Brien said. “So we’re absolutely dedicated to making sure, especially in this transition, that there’s no interruption. And we’ve had some good initial conversations with the Department of Education.”

O’Brien said AIHEC was able to discuss the changes with the Department of Education on Thursday, Nov. 20, and was assured there wouldn’t be an impact on the distribution of resources to tribal college and universities.

One change that could affect Indian Country in general involves how student loans are serviced going forward. While TCUs don’t supply student loans, many students benefit from programs like the Pell Grant fund and could end up taking out loans down the line during their academic journey.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which is located in southern North Dakota and northern South Dakota, confirmed it was not contacted about the recent restructuring.

“This move reflects a troubling return to historical patterns of federal control over Native education, including the era of the Indian boarding school system,” said Chairman Steven Sitting Bear in a Nov. 21 statement. “The transfer brings no additional support to our schools and merely shifts us from one inadequate system to another.”

Sitting Bear said this change isn’t progress and without tribal input it disregards sovereignty and undermines Native tribes’ visions for how their own children should be educated.