20 U.S.C. § 7514 — Native Hawaiian Education Council

(a) Grant authorized: To better coordinate the educational and related services and programs available to Native Hawaiians — including programs funded under this part — the Secretary must award a grant to the education council described in (b). (b) Education Council: (1) Eligibility — to get the grant, the council must meet the requirements below. (2) Composition — the Education Council has 15 members: the President of the University of Hawaii (or designee); the Governor of Hawaii (or designee); the Superintendent of the Hawaii Department of Education (or designee); the chairperson of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (or designee); the executive director of Hawaii's Charter School Network (or designee); the chief executive officer of the Kamehameha Schools (or designee); the chief executive officer of the Queen Liliuokalani Trust (or designee); one member the Secretary appoints from a list of 5 people representing private grant-making entities, submitted by the Council; the Mayor of the County of Hawaii (or designee); the Mayor of Maui County (or a designee from the Island of Maui); the Mayor of the County of Kauai (or designee); one member the Secretary appoints from a list of 5 people from the Island of Molokai or Lanai, submitted by the Mayor of Maui County; the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu (or designee); the chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission (or designee); and the chairperson of the Hawaii Workforce Development Council (or a private-sector designee). (3) Requirements — any designee must show, as judged by whoever appointed them with input from the Native Hawaiian community, at least 5 years of experience as a consumer or provider of Native Hawaiian educational or cultural activities, with traditional cultural experience given due weight. (4) Limitation — while serving, a member (including a designee) cannot directly receive or administer grant funds awarded under this part. (5) Term of members — a designee member serves no more than 4 years. (6) Chair and Vice Chair — the Council selects its own Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among its members, each serving a 2-year term. (7) Administrative provisions — the Council meets when the Chairperson calls a meeting, or when a majority of members request one, but no less often than every 120 days. (8) No compensation — none of the grant funds may pay any Council member, or member of a Council working group, for their duties described in this section. (c) Use of funds for coordination activities: The Council must use grant funds to: (1) advise on coordinating, and serve as a clearinghouse for, Native Hawaiian educational and related services and programs, including those assisted under this part; (2) assess how well those services and programs meet Native Hawaiians' needs, and collect data on the status of Native Hawaiian education; (3) provide direction and guidance, through reports and recommendations, to appropriate federal, state, and local agencies to focus and improve resource use — including resources under this part — for Native Hawaiian education, and serve in an advisory capacity where appropriate; (4) award grants, if doing so enables the Council to carry out (1) through (3); and (5) hire an executive director to help carry out the Council's duties and powers under subsection (d). (d) Use of funds for technical assistance: The Council must use grant funds to: (1) give technical assistance to Native Hawaiian organizations that are grantees or potential grantees under this part; (2) obtain from those grantees information and data about grants awarded under this part, including data on their effectiveness in meeting the Council's educational priorities under (6)(D), and their effectiveness carrying out activities described in section 7515(a)(3) tied to each grantee's specific project goals — all using related metrics; (3) assess and define the educational needs of Native Hawaiians; (4) assess the programs and services available to address those needs; (5) assess and evaluate the individual and combined impact grantees have had on improving Native Hawaiian educational performance and meeting this part's goals, using related metrics; and (6) submit an annual report to the Secretary, at the end of each calendar year, containing: (A) a description of the Council's activities during the year; (B) a description of significant barriers to achieving this part's goals; (C) a summary of each community consultation session described in subsection (e); and (D) recommendations to set funding priorities under this part, based on assessing the educational needs of Native Hawaiians, the programs and services available to meet those needs, program effectiveness at improving Native Hawaiian students' performance against the challenging state academic standards under section 6311(b)(1), and priorities for specific geographic communities. (e) Use of funds for community consultations: The Council must use grant funds to hold at least one community consultation each year on each of the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Oahu, and Kauai, where: (1) at least 3 Council members must attend; (2) the Council gathers community input on current grantees under this part, on the priorities and needs of Native Hawaiians, and on other Native Hawaiian education issues; and (3) the Council reports to the community on the outcomes of grant-funded activities. (f) Funding: For each fiscal year, the Secretary uses the amount described in section 7515(c)(2) to make a payment under this grant. The grant funds remain available until expended.