25 U.S.C. § 2021 — Definitions

For this chapter, unless another provision says otherwise: (1) “Agency school board” means a body appointed by all school boards in an agency, including contract or grant schools, with the number set by the Secretary after consulting affected tribes. In a one-school agency, that school’s board performs the duties; where a contract or grant school exists, at least one member must come from it. (2) “Bureau” means the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Interior Department. (3) “Bureau-funded school” means a Bureau school, a contract or grant school, or a school assisted under the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988. (4) “Bureau school” means a Bureau-operated elementary or secondary day or boarding school, or a Bureau-operated dormitory for students attending a non-Bureau school. (5) “Complementary educational facilities” means program spaces such as libraries, gyms, and cafeterias. (6) “Contract or grant school” means an elementary school, secondary school, or dormitory financially assisted under the listed Bureau laws or the Tribally Controlled Schools Act. (7) “Director” means the Director of the Office of Indian Education Programs. (8) “Education line officer” means education personnel supervised by that Director, whether in a central, area, or agency office. (9) “Family literacy services” has the meaning in 20 U.S.C. 7801. (10) “Financial plan” means each Bureau school’s service plan. (11) “Indian organization” means a legal group owned or controlled by one or more federally recognized tribes, or whose members are mostly members of such tribes. (12) “Inherently Federal functions” means noncontractable functions under section 2006(c), including allocating and obligating Federal money; deciding expenditures; administering Federal personnel, contracting, and grant laws; monitoring and auditing grants and contracts; conducting administrative hearings and appeals; deciding and presenting the Secretary’s positions in appeals and litigation; issuing Federal regulations, policies, and Federal Register documents; reporting to Congress and the President; formulating the Secretary’s and President’s policies and budget and legislative recommendations; and the Secretary’s nondelegable duties concerning trust resources. (13) “Local educational agency” means a local education board or other lawful authority controlling free public education in a county, township, or school district in a State, including a State agency that directly operates and maintains such facilities. (14) “Local school board,” for a Bureau school, means a body chosen under the tribe’s laws or, without such laws, elected by parents of Indian children at the school. For a school serving many tribes, the tribal governing bodies appoint the members and the Secretary sets their number after consulting those tribes. (15) “Office” means the Office of Indian Education Programs within the Bureau. (16) “Regulation” means a statement, or part of one, of general or particular application that the Secretary issues to carry out, interpret, or prescribe law or policy under this Act. This does not prevent guidance, internal directives, or similar Indian Affairs Manual documents. (17) “Secretary” means the Interior Secretary. (18) “Supervisor” means the person with ultimate authority at a Bureau school. (19) “Tribal governing body” means the governing body or bodies representing at least 90 percent of a school’s students. (20) “Tribe” means an Indian tribe^*, band, nation, or organized group or community, including an Alaska Native Regional or Village Corporation under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, recognized as eligible for United States Indian programs and services because of Indian status.