SEATTLE — On Tuesday, the Trump administration released its plan to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. The plan includes provisions to transfer most American Indian and Alaska Native programs to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The agency’s Office of Indian Education will be transferred to the Interior Department, while oversight of the Fulbright-Hays overseas research program and all federal international education and foreign language initiatives will shift to the State Department. The department will also move its campus child care access program and foreign medical school accreditation program to the Department of Health and Human Services.
The National Congress of American Indians condemned the executive order to begin dismantling the Department of Education, calling the move reckless, politically motivated and a direct threat to Native students, tribal sovereignty and the federal government’s trust and treaty obligations.
“Let us be clear: This is not just an administrative change – it’s an attack on the fundamental right of Native students to a quality education that reflects their identity, history, and sovereignty,” NCAI President Mark Macarro said from the organization’s 82nd Annual Convention and Marketplace in Seattle. “The trust and treaty responsibilities of the United States are not optional. Dismantling the Department of Education is a betrayal to Native Nations and future generations.”
“One problem with this decision is there was no tribal consultation, ” Macarro said to Native News Online.
Ahniwake Rose, president of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, said there are still many unanswered questions about how funding for Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), that once went through a single department will now be handled by multiple agencies.
“When my TCUs have a question, they’re going to be three agencies they might possibly have to go to for solutions. So we’re going to need really clear-cut roles, delineations for who does what, when, and where,” she said. “To be able to be part of the conversation as it’s being drafted would have been incredibly helpful.”
The impacted Indian education programs are:
Elementary and secondary education:
- Indian Education Grants to LEAs
- Special programs for Indian children — Indian Education Professional Development Grant Program (PD)
- Special programs for Indian children — Demonstration grants (DEMO)
- State Tribal Education Partnership Program (STEP)
- Native American and Alaska Native Language Program (NALED)
- Native American Language Resource Center Program (NALRC)
- Alaska Native Education Program (ANEP)
- Native Hawaiian Education Program (NHEP) and the Native Hawaiian Education Council
- Native American and Alaska Native Children in School (NAM) program
Postsecondary:
- American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities authorized under Title III, Part A of the Higher Education Act, Section 316 and Part F of the Higher Education Act, Section 371
- Indian Education-related Research and Development Infrastructure Grant program components authorized under Title VII, Part B of the Higher Education Act
Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education:
- Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Career and Technical Institutions program
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services:
- American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Services program
- Continued support for IDEA Part D funding for Tribally controlled colleges and universities (TCCUs)
View the partnership fact sheet for Indian education here.
