20 U.S.C. § 7442 — Professional development for teachers and education professionals

(a) Purposes: This section exists to: (1) increase the number of qualified Indian^* teachers and administrators working with Indian students; (2) give qualified Indian people training and support to become effective teachers, principals, school leaders, administrators, paraprofessionals, counselors, social workers, and specialized support staff; (3) improve the skills of qualified Indian people already working in those roles; and (4) build and run plans to keep effective teachers, principals, and school leaders who have succeeded at raising the achievement of low-performing Indian students.

(b) Eligible entities: "Eligible entity" here means: (1) a college or university, including a Tribal College or University; (2) a state or local education agency partnered with a college; (3) an Indian tribe or organization partnered with a college; or (4) a Bureau-funded school partnered with at least one Tribal College or University, where that's possible.

(c) Program authorized: The Secretary may award grants to eligible entities whose applications are approved, to carry out the activities in (d).

(d) Authorized activities: (1) In general. Grant money must fund support and training for Indian individuals, matching this section's purpose, which may include: (A) continuing education programs, symposia, workshops, and conferences; (B) mentoring, guidance, and instructional support from educators, local traditional leaders^*, or cultural experts, for teachers in their first three years on the job; (C) direct financial support; and (D) programs that train traditional leaders and cultural experts to give relevant Native language and cultural mentoring and support to the staff described in (a)(2). (2) Special rules. (A) Type of training. For school staff, training paid for by this grant can happen before or during their job. (B) Program. For people training to enter a field other than teaching, the training must be part of a program that leads to a graduate degree.

(e) Application: Any eligible entity that wants a grant must apply to the Secretary as required, describing at minimum how it will: (1) recruit qualified Indian people — including students who may not be typical college age — to become teachers, principals, or school leaders; (2) use the grant to support recruiting, preparing, and training Indian teachers or principals in school districts serving a lot of Indian students; and (3) help participants meet the requirements in (h).

(f) Special rule: When awarding grants, the Secretary: (1) may favor Tribal Colleges and Universities; (2) must consider the entity's past performance; and (3) cannot limit eligibility based on how long the entity has previously received a grant.

(g) Grant period: The Secretary must award grants for an initial period of no more than three years, and may renew them for up to two more years if the grantee is meeting its goals.

(h) Service obligation: (1) In general. By regulation, the Secretary must require that someone trained under this grant either (A) do work (i) related to the training and (ii) that benefits Indian students in a district serving a lot of Indian students, or (B) repay all or part of the assistance they got. (2) Reporting. By regulation, the Secretary must set up a reporting process where the grant recipient must report on meeting the work requirement, starting no later than 12 months after finishing training, and periodically after that.