Title VII: The Indian Education Program-Fact Sheet

Title VII: The Indian Education Program-Fact Sheet

 

What is the Indian Education Program described by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act?
According to the Department of Education, “the Indian Education program supports the efforts of school districts, Indian tribes and organizations, postsecondary institutions (like colleges and universities),and other entities to meet the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students so that they can meet the same challenging state student academic achievement standards as all other students.”

How do California schools get funding under Title VII?
Under Title VII, schools in California are eligible for formula grants. Each local district receives at least $3,000. School district applications for these grants must include academic content and student academic achievement goals, as well as benchmarks for attaining such goals, that are based on the challenging state academic content and achievement standards for all children adopted under Title I. Based on 2007 statistics (the latest available), the state is allotted an average of $194 per Native Student.

Grant funds supplement the regular school program. Projects help Indian children sharpen their academic skills, assisting students in becoming proficient in the core content areas, and provide students an opportunity to participate in enrichment programs that would otherwise be unavailable. Funds support such activities as after-school programs, early childhood education, tutoring, and dropout prevention.

What can Title VII funding be used for?
According to the Department of Education, acceptable activities under this program include:

  • Culturally related activities that support the application for funding
  • Early childhood and family programs
  • Enrichment programs that directly support the attainment of challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standard
  • Integrated educational services
  • Career preparation activities
  • Activities concerning substance abuse and to prevent substance abuse
  • Activities that incorporate American Indian- and Alaska Native-specific curriculum content, consistent with state standards, into the curriculum
  • Family literacy services

The Department of Education includes a list of specific services and activities that fit within the above categories.

Permissible services include the following:

  • Attendance—strategies
  • Dropout prevention strategies
  • Language Arts and/or Writing
  • Literacy—Family
  • Math, Intervention
  • Math—Accelerated
  • Native American Studies
  • Native Language Instruction
  • Pre-Advanced Placement (AP) Preparation
  • Reading—Accelerated
  • Reading—Enhancement and Writing
  • Reading—Family Literacy
  • Reading—Intervention
  • Reading Recovery Program
  • Reading—Success for All
  • School Readiness
  • Science
  • Social Studies
  • State or End of Course Exam Preparation
  • Substance Abuse Prevention
  • Technology, Use and Proficiency
  • Tribal History

Permissible activities include the following:  

  • ACT or SAT Preparation and Testing
  • AP Coursework and Testing
  • Career and/or College Guidance
  • Civic Projects
  • Counseling
  • Creative Writing
  • Credit Recovery or Completion
  • Experiential Learning
  • Libraries, Cultural Lending of Materials
  • Multicultural Affairs or Events
  • Storytelling
  • Study Skills Development
  • Student Clubs with Academic Emphasis
  • Tutoring: Skill Development Individually
  • Tutoring: Skill Development in Small Groups
  • Tutoring: Homework Assistance Individually
  • Tutoring:  Homework Assistance in Small Groups
  • Youth Leadership, Groups or Clubs

Programs, services, and activities that do not fit within any of the above categories are not eligible to be funded by Title VII’s Indian Education formula grants. 

For more information, please visit http://www2.ed.go...

Sources:
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, No Child Left Behind: A Desktop Reference, Washington, D.C., 2002.

“Indian Education Formula Grants.” U.S. Department of Education. Web. 31 Mar. 2010. http://www2.ed.go....