National Indian Education Association, Arlington, VA. (2000). Tribal-State Partnerships: Cooperating To Improve Indian Education. American Indian students attend Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools, BIA schools operated by tribes under contracts and grants, public schools off Indian reservations, and public schools on Indian reservations. Who has legal jurisdiction over Indian education in these various scenarios is undecided, so some tribes, states, and school districts have entered into mutual agreements to advance Indian education. In Washington, the Skokomish Tribe has a memorandum of agreement with the Hood Canal school district and the state superintendent of public instruction to operate a project to increase tribal student reading achievement and community involvement; the Swinomish tribal community in Washington has a cooperative agreement with the local school district and Head Start program for the collaborative provision of early childhood services; and the Lummi tribal schools have an agreement with their local school district that addresses funding and provision of education for BIA grant school students. Other examples are given of co-governance between tribes and schools in the areas of truancy, impact aid funding, Johnson O'Malley programs, and school board composition and operation. Aspects of state and tribal cooperation that are required by state law are reviewed, and factors contributing to sustaining collaborative efforts in Indian education are listed. Most of this document consists of appendices, which present cooperative agreements, applicable laws, and contact information.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indian Education, Early Childhood Education, Elementary Secondary Education, Federal Indian Relationship

McCoy, Melody (1993). Indian Education Legal Support Project, "Tribalizing Indian Education." Presentation/Workshop Materials. The Indian Education Legal Support Project focuses on the legal rights of tribes to control the formal education of tribal members in all types of schools–federal, state, and tribal. Few tribes have tribal education laws, yet such laws are essential to defining each tribe's education rights and goals, and to delineating the forum and process for establishing government-to-government relationships and working agreements on common educational issues and goals. The project seeks to assist tribal governments in assessing their education situation; developing tribal education goals, laws, and standards; and influencing federal and state educational policies and legislation. This document contains the following materials for use in presentations and workshops: (1) project goals; (2) selected facts about Indian education; (3) tribal rights under selected federal Indian education laws; (4) "top 10" questions about tribal rights and responsibilities in education; (5) tribal self-assessment questions concerning tribal educational history, current situation, goals, capabilities, resources, and relationships with the state and public school districts; (6) self-assessment questions for state and federal agencies involved in Indian education; and (7) examples of Indian education problems and tribal government solutions.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indian Education, Educational Legislation, Educational Objectives, Educational Responsibility