§ 5351 — School Construction, Acquisition, Or Renovation Contracts

(a) The Secretary is authorized to enter into a contract or contracts with any State education agency or school district for the purpose of assisting such agency or district in the acquisition of sites for, or the construction, acquisition, or renovation of facilities (including all necessary equipment) in school districts on or adjacent to or in close proximity to any Indian reservation or other lands held in trust by the United States for Indians, if such facilities are necessary for the education of Indians residing on any such reservation or lands. (b) of title 20. Such funds shall be allocated on the basis of existing funding priorities, if any, established by the Secretary of Education under subsections (a) and (b) of section 644 1 of title 20. The Secretary of Education is directed to submit to the Secretary, at the beginning of each fiscal year, commencing with the first full fiscal year after January 4, 1975, a list of those projects eligible for funding under subsections (a) and (b) of section 644 1 of title 20. (c) The Secretary may expend not more than 25 per centum of such funds as may be authorized and appropriated pursuant to this section on any school eligible to receive funds under section 5355 of this title. (d) Any contract entered into by the Secretary pursuant to this section shall contain provisions requiring the relevant State educational agency to— (1) provide Indian students attending any such facilities constructed, acquired, or renovated, in whole or in part, from funds made available pursuant to this section with standards of education not less than those provided non-Indian students in the school district in which the facilities are situated; and (2) meet, with respect to such facilities, the requirements of the State and local building codes, and other building standards set by the State educational agency or school district for other public school facilities under its jurisdiction or control or by the local government in the jurisdiction within which the facilities are situated. (e) The Secretary shall consult with the entity designated pursuant to section 5346 of this title, and with the governing body of any Indian tribe or tribes the educational opportunity for the members of which will be significantly affected by any contract entered into pursuant to this section. Such consultation shall be advisory only, but shall occur prior to the entering into of any such contract. The foregoing provisions of this subsection shall not be applicable where the application for a contract pursuant to this section is submitted by an elected school board of which a majority of its members are Indians. (f) Within ninety days following the expiration of the three year period following January 4, 1975, the Secretary shall evaluate the effectiveness of the program pursuant to this section and transmit a report of such evaluation to the Congress. Such report shall include— (1) an analysis of construction costs and the impact on such costs of the provisions of subsection (f) of this section and the Act of March 3, 1921 (46 Stat. 1491), as amended; 1 (2) a description of the working relationship between the Department of the Interior and the Department of Education including any memorandum of understanding in connection with the acquisition of data pursuant to subsection (b) of this section; (3) projections of the Secretary of future construction needs of the public schools serving Indian children residing on or adjacent to Indian reservations; (4) a description of the working relationship of the Department of the Interior with local or State educational agencies in connection with the contracting for construction, acquisition, or renovation of school facilities pursuant to this section; and (5) the recommendations of the Secretary with respect to the transfer of the responsibility for administering subsections (a) and (b) of section 644 1 of title 20 from the Department of Education to the Department of the Interior. (g) For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section, there is authorized to be appropriated the sum of $35,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1974; $35,000,000 for each of the four succeeding fiscal years; and thereafter, such sums as may be necessary, all of such sums to remain available until expended.