(a) Office of Indian EducationThere shall be an Office of Indian Education (referred to in this section as “the Office”) in the Department of Education.
(b) Director(1) Appointment and reportingThe Office shall be under the direction of the Director, who shall be appointed by the Secretary and who shall report directly to the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
(2) DutiesThe Director shall—(A) be responsible for administering part A of title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.];
(B) be involved in, and be primarily responsible for, the development of all policies affecting Indian children and adults under programs administered by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education;
(C) coordinate the development of policy and practice for all programs in the Department relating to Indian persons; and
(D) assist the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement in identifying research priorities related to the education of Indian persons.
(c) Indian preference in employment(1) In generalThe Secretary shall give a preference to Indian persons in all personnel actions in the Office.
(2) ImplementationSuch preference shall be implemented in the same fashion as the preference given to any veteran under section 45 of title 25.
(Pub. L. 96–88, title II, § 215, as added Pub. L. 103–382, title III, § 372(2), Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3977; amended Pub. L. 114–95, title IX, § 9215(v), Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 2171.)
Editorial Notes
References in TextThe Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(A), is Pub. L. 89–10, Apr. 11, 1965, 79 Stat. 27. Part A of title VI of the Act is classified generally to part A (§ 7401 et seq.) of subchapter VI of chapter 70 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 6301 of this title and Tables.
Prior ProvisionsA prior section 215 of Pub. L. 96–88 was renumbered section 217 and is classified to section 3424 of this title.
Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 2641 of Title 25, Indians, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–382, § 367.
Amendments2015—Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 114–95 substituted “be responsible for administering part A of title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965” for “be responsible for administering this title”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 2015 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 114–95 effective Dec. 10, 2015, except with respect to certain noncompetitive programs and competitive programs, see section 5 of Pub. L. 114–95, set out as a note under section 6301 of this title.
Office of Educational Research and ImprovementThe Office of Educational Research and Improvement was established by section 3419 of this title. Section 3419 was repealed and a new section 3419 establishing the Institute of Educational Sciences was enacted by Pub. L. 107–279, title IV, § 402(2), Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1985.