Johnson Examines Educational Needs of Native Students

Press Release

At an Indian Affairs Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) and his colleagues examined the impact that the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has had in Indian Country and discussed how the educational needs of Indian students can be taken into account when education legislation comes before Congress. Keith Moore, a Rosebud member who was recently named Director of the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), testified before the committee.

"A top priority for me and the tribes in South Dakota is the education of Indian students," Johnson said. "We must do our best to provide all of our students with positive learning environments, which include safe schools, well-qualified teachers and more attention to the individual needs of Indian students."

Johnson discussed with the witnesses ways to improve the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) benchmarks of schools in Indian Country to better reflect student improvement over the course of the school year. AYP is a part of NCLB to measure proficiency levels at schools across the country. Johnson supported NCLB when the initial program passed in 2002, but believes that some changes are needed to accurately measure and ensure a real improvement in student achievement, including additional flexibility and committing the necessary funding to the program so that states and school districts have the necessary resources to help every child succeed academically.

Johnson has continually fought to improve education in Indian Country. Earlier this month, Johnson led a roundtable discussion with education leaders at Little Wound School in Kyle to find solutions to improve these schools. Last week, Johnson cosponsored The Native American Employment Act of 2010 which included the Johnson-authored Indian School Construction Act to improve the conditions of schools in Indian Country. The Act, part of which was passed in the stimulus package, would create a tax credit bonding program for tribal schools to allow an additional funding mechanism for the construction and repair of BIA schools.

Moore was selected in May to lead the BIE, which operates the federal school system for American Indian and Alaska Native children of federally recognized tribes. Prior to his selection as BIE Director, Moore was the Chief Diversity Officer at the University of South Dakota, his alma mater. He was also previously the Indian Education Director for the South Dakota Department of Education.

In addition to Moore, also testifying today were Charlie P. Rose, General Counsel, Department of Education; Chad Smith, Principal Chief, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma; Marian Bowers, Hoopa Tribe; Mary Jane Oatman-Watk Wak, President Elect, National Indian Education Association; David Beaulieu, Professor Emeritus, Arizona State University.

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