Sponsor
Melanie Ann Stansbury
Representative · D-NM
Representative · D-NM
The bill would raise and stabilize pay and operational funding for BIE and tribally controlled schools—especially small and remote schools—improving equity and retention, but it increases federal costs and creates risks that Congress may not fully fund the higher statutory targets or that compensation priorities could crowd out other school needs.
Teachers and non‑teacher staff in Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and tribally controlled schools would get higher, more competitive, and more‑aligned pay (including DoDEA/federal comparisons), reducing pay disparities and helping staff retention.
Students in tribally controlled schools would get more stable, inflation‑protected operational funding because the President's budget must request 'full funding' and be adjusted by CPI‑U changes.
Small, tribal‑controlled, and rural BIE schools would receive additional weighted funding to better reflect their higher per‑student costs, improving resources for remote and small schools.
Taxpayers and the federal budget could face substantially higher costs because salary target increases and statutory 'full funding' requests raise required appropriations, increasing budgetary pressure.
If Congress does not appropriate the higher 'full funding' amounts the statute requires the President to request, tribes and schools could still experience funding shortfalls despite elevated expectations.
Prioritizing compensation increases (to match DoDEA/federal rates) could crowd out funding flexibility for other needs such as facilities, programs, or supplies if overall appropriations are limited.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires Interior to update the Indian School Equalization Formula within 1 year and directs annual budget requests to fully fund the program using the updated formula and pay-parity adjustments.
Official title: To improve the Indian School Equalization Formula and Indian School Equalization Program of the Bureau of Indian Education, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 27, 2026 by Melanie Ann Stansbury · Last progress July 27, 2026
Requires the Department of the Interior to update the Indian School Equalization Formula (ISEF) within one year to better reflect equitable staffing, salary, and school-cost needs for Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and tribally controlled schools. It directs the Assistant Secretary to request full annual budget funding for the Indian School Equalization Program using the updated formula, including cost adjustments for salaries, pay parity for non‑teacher staff, and a fixed adjustment to match Department of Defense teacher pay schedules. The measure also mandates consulting tribes and national organizations, requires a report to Congress with recommendations on ISEF adequacy, and creates a specific weighted-student adjustment for Havasupai Elementary School. Budget requests must account for CPI-U changes and technical inputs from the National Advisory Council on Indian Education.