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khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 124 / Thursday, July 1, 2021 / Rules and Regulations Comment: No taxpayer dollars should be used for religious purposes unless the religion is a traditional Native American religion.
Response: Funds received under Part 48 are not taxpayer funds. The funds received come from leases and donations and can be used for school purposes as defined in 48.3, which do not include sectarian purposes. It is the policy for the BIE Director, pursuant to 25 CFR 32.4f, to promote and respect the right to cultural practices and religious freedom for all students, consistent with Tribal and Alaska Native entities wishes and with the provisions of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.
Comment: The requirements in Subpart B are vague because they dont list the detailed requirements that each possible lessee must have to obtain a lease.
Response: The rule lists the detailed requirements for the lease at 48.105.
Comment: The rule should establish specific guidelines regarding how the funds are to be used to benefit the school or there will be confusion and misuse of funds.
Response: The rule defines the school purposes for which the funds may be used. See 48.3 definition of school purposes, 48.110 regarding use of funds received through leasing, and 48.204 regarding use of funds received through fundraising.
Comment: This rule should incorporate other types of schools such as Tribal schools that are underfunded in locations where students may not have the opportunity to attend a Bureau school.
Response: The statutory authority for this rule extends only to BIE-operated schools.
Comment: We are in favor of this rule because of the magnitude of BIEoperated schools need for funds and that any funding received through leasing and fundraising will not affect or diminish appropriations. Since the intent of the rule is to increase the amount of funds at BIE-schools disposal in order to improve educational outcomes for students, it would be regrettable if this rule eventually precipitated the opposite and resulted in a loss of funding for these schools.
Response: Congress provided that nothing in the statute authorizing leasing of and fundraising by Bureauoperated schools diminishes or otherwise affects the appropriation of funds to the budget accounts for operation and maintenance of Bureauoperated schools. Congress further provided that no funds may be withheld
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from distribution to the budget of any Bureau-operated school due to the schools receipt of funds from leasing or fundraising.
Comment: The stipulation that the rule does not affect 25 CFR 31.2, which allows BIE facilities to be used for adult education and community activities without the requirement of consideration, mitigates concerns that the rule may be detrimental to the community, as both adult education activities and communities provide positive outcomes, particularly in communities facing higher poverty rates, such as those in which BIEoperated schools are located.
Response: The final rule includes the stipulation that this commenter supports.
Comment: The requirement in section 48.205f that participation in fundraising must be voluntary is important not just for teachers, but also students, community members and organizations, to ensure they are not punished or retaliated against for not participating in a fundraiser, or for participating in an unsuccessful fundraiser.
Response: The final rule includes the requirement that this commenter supports.
Comment: A major advantage to this rule is that it improves these schools access to much-needed funds without having to increase government spending or divert government funding from other important purposes. Although BIE
schools receive more funding per pupil than the average U.S. public school, the financial need for this rule is still evident due to the unique challenges and higher costs such schools face. The funding schools can obtain from fundraising would help make necessary improvements to the quality of education for all its students; however, the GAO, in its 2014 report, specified concerns regarding BIE schools ability to manage funds efficiently and ethically and, in 2017, added BIE to its High Risk List for agencies and programs vulnerable to mismanagement.
A prudent solution would be to resolve existing issues to prevent poor stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Ideally, BIE would first demonstrate an improved ability to handle its finances before entrusting BIE schools with additional funds.
Response: The rule provides that the schools must report on the use of funds received through leasing see 48.115
and fundraising 48.208.
Comment: The condition at section 48.206 requiring donations equal to or exceeding $5,000 be approved by the Directors designee could cause school
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administrators to discourage donations exceeding this threshold in order to minimize bureaucratic approvals, or misrepresent the true dollar amount of the donation while pocketing amounts in excess of the threshold.
Response: Criminal statutes prohibit employees from pocketing funds.
Comment: Listing $5,000 as a threshold will eventually produce considerably different results over time due to inflation; instead, add a stipulation that the exact dollar amount is to be equivalent of the real value as of 2021. There are free, fast, userfriendly inflation calculators on the internet that would assist in adjusting the value based on inflation in successive years.
Response: BIE will reevaluate this monetary threshold after it obtains experience in implementing this regulation.
Comment: The rules requirement at section 48.104 that the Director must determine that any proposed leases must not interfere with school activities or compromise school safety should be supported by a reporting mechanism between the impacted schools faculty, staff, and students and the Director in case an interference occurs during the lease term. Those individuals witness the day-to-day operations of the school and will identify whether a lease results in unanticipated negative effects on schooling. There should be a procedure to allow them to file complaints with the Director so the Director fully understands the effects of the actual implementation of a given lease and can take appropriate actions as needed.
Response: The Head of the School, in consultation with the school board or board of regents, certifies that the lease will not interfere with existing or planned school activities prior to the Director entering into the lease. Each individual lease will have provisions specific to the activities that the lessee will conduct under the lease to ensure that lease activities will not interfere with school activities. Failure to comply with lease terms would be addressable under 48.116 and 48.117.
Comment: It seems that Native American children with exceptionalities are or may be denied the protections of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and other laws that empower them to achieve education-related goals. Many living on reservations are trapped in poverty, inadequate housing, alcoholism, drug abuse, and exceptionally high levels of unemployment, and children living on the reservation have two options: obtain an education to end the vicious cycle or remain trapped. Without the opportunity to obtain an education
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