I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4586 To expand opportunity for Native American children through additional options in education, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 1, 2019 Mr. BIGGS (for himself, Mr. GOSAR, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, and Mr. KING of Iowa) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To expand opportunity for Native American children through additional options in education, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native American Edu- 4 cation Opportunity Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. NATIVE AMERICAN EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY PRO- 6 GRAM. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of title XI of the Edu- 8 cation Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2000 et seq.) is 9 amended— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4586.IH H4586 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4586 IH (1) by redesignating section 1141 as section 1 1142; and 2 (2) by inserting after section 1140 the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘SEC. 1141. FUNDING OF TRIBAL-BASED EDUCATION SAV- 5 INGS ACCOUNT PROGRAMS. 6 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 7 ‘‘(1) DISBURSEMENTS.—At the request of 8 Tribes, the Secretary of Education shall, for the 9 2020–2021 school year and each subsequent school 10 year, disburse amounts transferred under section 11 2101(a)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 12 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6611(a)(2)) for the 13 fiscal year to such Tribes that administer education 14 savings account programs to enable the Tribes to 15 award grants to education savings accounts for ESA 16 eligible students for such school year, in accordance 17 with subsection (b). 18 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply 19 with respect to ESA eligible students who have sub- 20 mitted their application for participation under this 21 section to the Tribe of which the student is an en- 22 rolled member on or after January 1, 2019. 23 ‘‘(3) ACCOUNT ADMINISTRATION.—A Tribe may 24 enter into an agreement with a nonprofit entity for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4586.IH H4586 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4586 IH the administration of the accounts created through 1 the Tribe’s education savings account program. 2 ‘‘(4) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—Funds dis- 3 bursed to a Tribe under this section shall be used 4 to deposit $8,000 each year in the Tribal education 5 savings accounts of ESA eligible students. 6 ‘‘(5) PERMISSIBLE USE OF FUNDS.—Funds dis- 7 bursed to a Tribe under this section may be used 8 for— 9 ‘‘(A) private tutoring, including academic, 10 Native language, or cultural tutoring; 11 ‘‘(B) costs of attendance at a private ele- 12 mentary school or secondary school recognized 13 by the State, which may include a private 14 school that has a religious mission; 15 ‘‘(C) private online learning programs; 16 ‘‘(D) services provided by a public elemen- 17 tary school or secondary school attended by the 18 child on a less than full-time basis, including in- 19 dividual classes and extracurricular activities 20 and programs; 21 ‘‘(E) textbooks, curriculum programs, or 22 other instructional materials, including any sup- 23 plemental materials required by a curriculum 24 program, private school, private online learning 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4586.IH H4586 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4586 IH program, or a public school, or any parent di- 1 rected curriculum associated with K–12 edu- 2 cation; 3 ‘‘(F) computer hardware or other techno- 4 logical devices that are used to help meet a stu- 5 dent’s educational needs, except that such hard- 6 ware or devices may not be purchased by a par- 7 ent more than once in an 18-month period; 8 ‘‘(G) educational software and applica- 9 tions; 10 ‘‘(H) uniforms purchased for attendance at 11 a private school recognized by the State; 12 ‘‘(I) fees for nationally standardized as- 13 sessment exams, advanced placement exams, 14 any exams related to college or university ad- 15 mission, or tuition or fees for preparatory 16 courses for such exams; 17 ‘‘(J) fees for summer education programs 18 and specialized after-school education programs 19 (but not including after-school childcare); 20 ‘‘(K) educational services and therapies, 21 including occupational, behavioral, physical, 22 speech-language, and audiology therapies; 23 ‘‘(L) transportation to receive a service 24 under paragraph (4); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4586.IH H4586 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4586 IH ‘‘(M) costs of attendance at an institution 1 of higher education; 2 ‘‘(N) costs associated with an apprentice- 3 ship or other vocational training program; 4 ‘‘(O) fees for State-recognized industry 5 certification exams, and tuition or fees for pre- 6 paratory courses for such exams; 7 ‘‘(P) contributions to a college savings ac- 8 count, which may include contributions to a 9 qualified tuition program (as defined in section 10 529(b)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 11 1986) or other prepaid tuition plan offered by 12 a State; or 13 ‘‘(Q) any other educational expenses ap- 14 proved by the Secretary. 15 ‘‘(b) DISBURSEMENTS.— 16 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL DISBURSEMENTS.—A Tribe that 17 receives a disbursement amount under subsection (a) 18 shall make semi-annual distributions of such amount 19 to education savings accounts for ESA eligible stu- 20 dents. 21 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—A Tribe shall allocate not 22 more than 5 percent of the amount received per 23 pupil under this section to the administration of the 24 education savings account programs of the Tribe. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4586.IH H4586 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4586 IH ‘‘(3) ROLL OVER AND REMAINING FUNDS IN AN 1 ACCOUNT.—Amounts remaining in the Tribal edu- 2 cation savings account of a student at the end of a 3 school year shall remain available until expended for 4 use in accordance with this section. 5 ‘‘(4) TERMINITION AND RETURN OF FUNDS.— 6 The Tribal education savings account of a student 7 shall terminate on— 8 ‘‘(A) the date on which the student enrolls 9 in a public elementary school or secondary 10 school on a full-time basis; 11 ‘‘(B) in the case of a student who is pur- 12 suing postsecondary education, the earlier of— 13 ‘‘(i) the date on which the student 14 completes postsecondary education; or 15 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the student at- 16 tains the age of 25 years; 17 ‘‘(C) in the case of a student who is an in- 18 dividual with a disability, the date on which the 19 student attains the age of 26 years; or 20 ‘‘(D) in the case of an individual not de- 21 scribed in subparagraphs (B) or (C), the earlier 22 of— 23 ‘‘(i) the date on which the student at- 24 tains the age of 25 years; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4586.IH H4586 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4586 IH ‘‘(ii) the expiration of any 2-year pe- 1 riod during which funds in the account are 2 not used in accordance with this section. 3 ‘‘(c) COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS.— 4 A State that receives funds under this title shall consider 5 a child with a Tribal education savings account for a 6 school year as meeting the State’s compulsory school at- 7 tendance requirements for such school year. 8 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of a child with a 9 Tribal education savings account who attends a public 10 school on a less than full-time basis in a school year— 11 ‘‘(1) the child may not attend the public school 12 free of charge; and 13 ‘‘(2) funds in the account, in an amount deter- 14 mined pursuant to an agreement between the parent 15 of the child and the local educational agency con- 16 cerned, shall be used to pay for the child’s costs of 17 attendance at such school. 18 ‘‘(e) TRIBAL CONSULTATION.— 19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before providing edu- 20 cational services to ESA eligible students, and on an 21 annual basis thereafter, a participating educational 22 service provider shall engage in consultation with ap- 23 propriate tribal officials before providing educational 24 services to ESA eligible students. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4586.IH H4586 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4586 IH ‘‘(2) DOCUMENTATION.—The participating edu- 1 cational service provider shall maintain in the pro- 2 vider’s records and provide to the Bureau of Indian 3 Education a written affirmation signed by the ap- 4 propriate officials of the participating tribes or tribal 5 organizations approved by the tribes that the con- 6 sultation required by this section has occurred. If 7 such officials do not provide such affirmation within 8 a reasonable period of time, the affected educational 9 service provider shall forward documentation that 10 such consultation has taken place to the Bureau of 11 Indian Education. 12 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 13 this section shall be construed to require the partici- 14 pating educational service provider to determine who 15 are the appropriate officials. 16 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—Consultation required under 17 this section shall not interfere with the timely ap- 18 proval and operation of participating educational 19 service providers. 20 ‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—A grant awarded to 21 an ESA eligible student under this section shall be consid- 22 ered assistance to the student and shall not be considered 23 assistance to a school that enrolls the ESA eligible student 24 or any other educational service provider from which the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4586.IH H4586 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4586 IH ESA eligible student receives services. The amounts pro- 1 vided on behalf of an ESA eligible student under this sec- 2 tion shall not be treated as income of the parent or the 3 student for purposes of Federal tax laws or for deter- 4 mining eligibility for any other Federal program. 5 ‘‘(g) TERMINATION.—The authority to carry out this 6 section shall expire on the date that is 5 years after the 7 date of the enactment of this Act. 8 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 9 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS.—The term ‘ap- 10 propriate officials’ means— 11 ‘‘(A) tribal officials who are elected; or 12 ‘‘(B) appointed tribal leaders or officials 13 designated in writing. 14 ‘‘(2) EDUCATIONAL SERVICE PROVIDER.—The 15 term ‘educational service provider’ means an edu- 16 cational service provider that has entered into an 17 agreement with a Tribe. 18 ‘‘(3) ESA ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term 19 ‘ESA eligible student’ means an individual who is— 20 ‘‘(A) an elementary school or secondary 21 school Tribal enrolled student who attended a 22 school operated by the Bureau of Indian Edu- 23 cation in the semester preceding the date on 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4586.IH H4586 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4586 IH which the student first applies for participation 1 in an education savings account program; or 2 ‘‘(B) a child who— 3 ‘‘(i) will be eligible to attend a school 4 operated by the Bureau of Indian Edu- 5 cation for kindergarten or any other ele- 6 mentary school grade in the next semester 7 that will start after the date on which the 8 student first applies for participation in an 9 education savings account program; or 10 ‘‘(ii) will not be attending a school op- 11 erated by the Bureau of Indian Education, 12 receiving an education savings account 13 from another Tribe, or attending a public 14 elementary school or secondary school, 15 while the student is participating in an 16 education savings account program of a 17 Tribe. 18 ‘‘(4) EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT PRO- 19 GRAM.—The term ‘education savings account pro- 20 gram’ means a program administered by a Tribe in 21 which the Tribe awards a grant to an account man- 22 aged by the Tribe or a nonprofit entity on behalf of 23 a parent of an elementary school or secondary school 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4586.IH H4586 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 4586 IH student from which the parent may purchase goods 1 and services needed for the education of the student. 2 ‘‘(5) NONPROFIT ENTITY DEFINED.—In this 3 paragraph, the term ‘nonprofit entity’ means an en- 4 tity that is described in the section 501(c)(3) of the 5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from 6 taxation under section 501(a) of such Code. 7 ‘‘(6) PARENT.—The term ‘parent’ has the 8 meaning given the term in section 8101 of the Ele- 9 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 10 U.S.C. 7801). 11 ‘‘(7) TRIBE.—The term ‘Tribe’ means any rec- 12 ognized Indian tribe included on the current list 13 published by the Secretary under section 104 of the 14 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe Act of 1994 (25 15 U.S.C. 5131).’’. 16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1126(c) of 17 the Education Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2006(c)) 18 is amended by striking ‘‘section 1141(12)’’ and inserting 19 ‘‘section 1142(12)’’. 20 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE ELEMENTARY AND SEC- 21 ONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965. 22 Section 2101(a) of the Elementary and Secondary 23 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6611(a)) is amended 24 at the end by inserting the following new paragraph: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4586.IH H4586 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 4586 IH ‘‘(3) one-half of one percent for Tribes that ad- 1 minister education savings account programs under 2 section 1141 of part B of title XI of the Education 3 Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2000 et seq.).’’. 4 SEC. 4. CHARTER SCHOOLS AUTHORIZED. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of Indian Education 6 is authorized to approve and fund a Bureau-Funded Char- 7 ter School at any school operated or funded by the Bureau 8 of Indian Education. 9 (b) USE OF BUREAU FACILITIES.—Tribes are au- 10 thorized to use existing Bureau of Indian Education facili- 11 ties for the operation, management, and expansion of 12 grades in Bureau-funded charter schools, as defined in 13 section 4(d)(1). 14 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds dispersed to tribes 15 und [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]