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A New School Choice Option for Native Americans
If you want an example of the federal government’s myriad failures, the Navajo Nation is a good place to start. Despite billions of dollars of Washington spending, and clumsy micromanagement by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the HHS, more than 40 percent of the region’s residents live below the poverty line and the median household income is just $20,005.
The sprawling, semi-autonomous community covers 27,000 square miles of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, but is shared by only 170,000 people. Not only are the residents spread out over a vast distance, a large percentage live in remote locations making it difficult to establish quality local schools. As a result, the average high school graduation rate is a mere 32 percent, with only 5 percent of Navajos holding a bachelor’s degree.
So earlier this year, Sen. John McCain introduced the Native American Education Opportunity Act, which would enable residents of the Navajo Nation and other Native American communities to use an innovative school choice option called Education Savings Accounts. ESAs were first introduced in Arizona five years ago where they have met with great success. Over the past few years, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee replicated Arizona’s plan, making ESAs available only to children with special needs and kids below the poverty line. But last year Nevada took a big leap forward by opening the program to all public school students in the Silver State.
Here’s how ESAs work: The state places a portion of existing education dollars into a personal account. But instead of the government managing those funds, parents can use them to customize learning for their kids. So if a child with autism requires intensive speech therapy, for instance, the parent can offset that cost with their ESA debit card. State auditors need to approve the purchases, much like a health administrator double-checks a drugstore receipt when you use your HSA or Flex spending card. Since the funds are limited, parents are encouraged to spend carefully, especially since any funds leftover can be directed to future grades or their child’s higher education.
The Native American Education Opportunity Act would allow eligible students attending the high-cost, underperforming Bureau of Indian Education schools to improve their educational options. Ninety percent of a child’s share of federal funding would be placed into a dedicated ESA account. Parents could then direct these funds to better-performing private schools, charter schools, or distance learning programs.
“It is unconscionable to leave Native American students stranded in failing schools when we can create the option of expanding educational opportunities on Indian reservations now,” McCain said. “I am proud to introduce this bill that would give Native American parents the option of using BIE funds to pay for private school tuition, tutors, books, and other educational needs through a state-administered education savings account. I believe that encouraging private schools to compete with BIE schools can improve K-12 education, even in the most remote parts of Indian Country.”
Tribal representatives are very supportive of the bill, which has passed the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. “Native American parents have always had few options for educational excellence and have very specific needs,” Navajo Nation Council Delegate Jonathan Hale said. “The Native American Education Opportunity Act brings the power into the hands of Native American parents who know better than anyone else what their children need in order to be challenged.”
Arizona State Senator Carlyle Begay, who grew up in the Navajo Nation, agrees. “I’ve always believed education is the key to lifting up tribal communities yet our Native children are dead last in all important education matrices including having the highest dropout rate. This begs the question, ‘Are American Indian children failing the education system or is the education system failing American Indian children?’ This bill is a step toward rebuilding our communities through education by giving all tribal parents the options and resources they are requesting.”
A positive side effect of the legislation will be to help reorient our educational funding, by allowing dollars to follow the students, rather than having billions given to school districts and local politicians to parcel out as they see fit.
Published in Education
Won’t Obama veto this? Can’t have folks escape the federal reservations.
I’m certainly not opposed to other options for the Navajo children living in AZ and NM. But, what are the other options? What other schools are within traveling distance for them to attend? Will this necessitate building something new, or will some children have to board in another town? I’ve been in the Navajo Nation, and it is enormous, and many areas are physically isolated with poor roads. Can any of the BIE schools be reconstituted under a different management? I know, lots of questions…I live in Nevada, and there are educational options just down the block here. It gives people the chance to try something else for their children. But, where will the Navajo parents go to find another school?
I don’t know Jon…I have reservations.
It can’t be worse than the current system. I am sure their will be abuses like paying for satellite internet so a child can due school online that will mostly be used for entertainment. However, I am willing to put a wager up with anyone that thinks nothing will change or it will get worse. Not sure what the metric should be and I would want it normalized for any change in wedlock birth rates. However I would at lest due a few hundred dollar bet that the outcomes will be better.
At first blush, this proposal appears to offer nothing but upside:
Experimentation will result in some failures, for sure, but just think of the lessons to be learned and the striving for excellence that will flower in a process of ongoing improvement.
“What if change became the norm rather than the exception? Suppose the organization directed its energy not at achieving stability but at pursuing ONGOING improvement?” — The Goal, Eliyahu Goldratt and Jeff Cox
I want to applaud this effort to try and help our Native American brothers and sisters. But like Cow Girl I have questions that may not give me reservations like SpiritO’78, however, it does make me wonder.
I just wonder if they are looking at all of the issues surrounding the Native Americans in that area. Is it really just the education system to be worried about? I am still a person that believes that education starts at home too. Therefore, shouldn’t there be some kind of program put in place to help the parents of these children? It seems to me that even if the parents are not educated, they still can benefit from some kind of service that would help them as parents when it comes to “teaching” their child at home.
I hope this works regardless of my questions. The plight of the Native American people have been a long and convoluted one.
Good points and a great quote!
Not sure if I could bet on it, but as I put in my earlier comment: I have questions and some worries. I am still hoping for the best regardless.
Wow. This is really good news.
Thank you.
This is a positive thing–giving parents the power. I hope I didn’t sound negative, I was just asking questions. Here in Nevada, the legislature created those accounts, and there are those among the entrenched who are wringing their hands and wailing. But, even though I am a public school teacher, I feel that empowering parents is a good thing. I’m not afraid. Make the bureaucracy more accountable! Choices and changes are generally positive, and that “ongoing improvement” thing? Bring it on!!
Given the diffuse population over great distances, Distance Learning seems to be the most sensible option for the parents. I am concerned that the parents will be “encouraged” to choose providers connected to corrupt tribal leaders. There must be serious metrics that demonstrate eligible providers perform at least as well as Khan Academy; Khan Academy may be free, if I am not mistaken. So, perhaps parents can select Khan Academy and direct their BIE funds towards installation and monthly subscription to quality broadband service.
Separately, do the Navajo on reservations even pay any federal, (or state) taxes? I may be mistaken, but I thought they were not subject to the laws for other citizens. Thus, for example, allowing them to operate casinos where they are otherwise illegal, or to sell tobacco tax free. If I am NOT mistaken, then their school system is paid for with federal money to which they are not required to contribute? Somebody please clarify this for me.
Alot of rural people don’t have internet access. The internet is a good tool for learning things. I’m sure there will be as much porn and facebook nonsense as research but using the account for getting internet will probably be a good thing for improving a child’s education.
We need to establish a market to drive down costs and improve quality. I know this sounds odd but this welfare program can help establish an education market.