MEMORANDUM- ESSA Tribal Consultation Requirements during COVID-19
NMPED Tribal Consultation Background
The New Mexico Public Education Department, along with its Indian Education Department, has worked to implement the amendments to the 1965 Education and Secondary Education Act known as the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Timely and meaningful tribal consultation with the state’s 23 federally recognized tribes and their communities has been at the core of the federal and state legislative measures created to improve education in New Mexico.
Affirmation of Tribal Consultation
The purpose of the Affirmation of Consultation document for Local Education Agencies is to establish a tribal consultation process that enhances the relationship between LEAs and the Tribes, Nations and Pueblos of New Mexico Per section 8538 of the new federal ESSA requirements. The affected local educational agencies (LEAs) must consult with Indian tribes, or those tribal organizations approved by the tribes located in the area served by the LEA, prior to submitting a plan or application for covered programs.
Under section 8538, an affected LEA is one that either: 1) has 50 percent or more of its student enrollment made up of AI/AN students; or 2) received an Indian education formula grant under Title VI of the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA, in the previous fiscal year that exceeds $40,000.