Sponsors
The bill expands tribal-directed school choice and locally controlled tribal schools—giving Native students more flexible, locally managed options and oversight transparency—while shifting existing federal K–12 dollars and creating funding, oversight, and protection trade-offs that could reduce resources for traditional public and BIE programs and introduce uncertainty for tribes and families.
Tribal students and families receive an $8,000-per-year Education Savings Account (ESA) with broad allowable uses (tutoring, private and religious schools, online learning, materials) that roll over year-to-year, expanding school-choice options and giving families flexible control of educational spending.
Tribes can open and expand locally controlled charter schools using Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) facilities that are tuition-free and must follow federal civil-rights, disability, privacy, special-education, health/safety, and audit rules, increasing locally managed public school options on tribal lands.
The Act enables tribes to limit administrative costs (5% cap) and contract nonprofit administrators or local developers and includes a guaranteed 0.5% set-aside for tribal program administration, supporting local control, community-based management, and directing more dollars to student services.
The bill redirects existing federal K–12 funds (including ESEA transfers and some BIE funding) into Tribal ESAs and charter/subcontract arrangements, which can reduce funding available to local public schools, other K–12 grant recipients, and traditional BIE programs if total appropriations are not increased.
The program creates funding uncertainty because it has a five-year sunset and does not fully specify total appropriations or fiscal-year funding mechanisms, meaning tribes and families may not receive sustained or actual funding without future congressional action.
Allowing ESA dollars to be used at private and religious schools and enabling subcontracted/developer-run schools risks uneven education quality and could divert students from public schools, producing inconsistent outcomes if operators vary in capacity or oversight is weak.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a five-year Tribal ESA program funded through a 0.5% ESEA set-aside, authorizes BIE-funded charter schools, limits admin costs, and requires a GAO review.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Andrew S. Biggs · Last progress January 3, 2025
Creates a Tribal-run education savings account (ESA) program funded by a small set-aside of ESEA funds and authorizes Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-funded charter schools. Tribes that request participation receive transferred ESEA amounts and must deposit $8,000 per eligible student per year into Tribal ESAs, limit administrative costs, follow specified use and age rules, and may contract with nonprofit administrators. The Act directs the BIE to approve and fund Bureau-Funded Charter Schools using BIE facilities, requires a GAO review of implementation within three years, and sunsets the ESA authority five years after enactment.