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Senate backs resolution and companion bill to fund Native American education initiatives
Summary
Senators endorsed a concurrent resolution supporting an American Indian and Alaska Native education state plan and advanced companion legislation that would provide $2 million over five years for targeted programs, with proposals reviewed by the State Board of Education.
Senator Van Tassel presented Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 and the companion Senate Bill 14 on Jan. 25, arguing the measures respond to poor data and persistent gaps in educational outcomes for Native American students. He described an earlier 2015 bill that created a commission and said the new measures aim to build on that work with culturally informed strategies, including consideration of native languages as satisfying a high school second-language requirement in some contexts.
On the floor, Van Tassel said the companion bill would appropriate $2,000,000 over five years and include a hard sunset; communities would submit proposals to the State Board of Education, which would select programs that meet budget and performance requirements. The sponsor emphasized local development of proposals—"driving it from the ground to the top"—and noted high teacher turnover on some reservations, which grants are intended to address by improving teacher retention and training.
The Senate recorded a roll-call pass of SCR 3 (announced as 29 yea, 0 nay, 0 absent). Van Tassel then moved Amendment 1 to SB 14 (dated 01/25/2016), explaining it sets the five-year funding mechanism and sunset; the clerk later announced SB 14 had received 28 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent and ordered the bill read for a third time.
The measures are advisory and programmatic: the resolution encourages a state plan while the bill would authorize a targeted appropriation and require the State Board of Education to screen and approve community proposals. The sponsor and floor statements make clear the funding is limited and intended to be evaluated at the five-year mark.
