Few School Districts with Large American Indian and Alaska Native Student Populations Offered Public School Choice Options

		Traditional Public Schools Were the Only Options in Most School Districts with High Percentages of American Indian and Alaska Native Students

Few areas with high percentages of Indian students had options other  than traditional public schools, according to our analysis of Education  data for school year 2015-16. Districts with the Largest Number of American Indian and Alaska Native Students Had More Public School Options

As previously noted, we also analyzed Education data from the 100  school districts with the largest number of Indian students. Of these 100 districts, 62 offered at least one option other than a  traditional public school, with the most common option being charter  schools (see fig. These 15 districts  had the largest overall student enrollments and were in urban areas such  as New York City, Los Angeles, and Albuquerque. They noted that Indian students often account for a small percentage of  all students in large urban districts and their schools are less likely to  have curricula that reflect their cultural identity or provide instruction on  Native languages. In the remaining districts, enrollment patterns  varied. Whether Indian students enrolled in different types of schools could be a  function of local differences in school choice and could be influenced by  the extent to which these schools offered curricula that reflect Indian  languages, cultures, or histories. Several tribal leaders and experts in Indian education said that  access to culturally-relevant curricula and language instruction is crucial  to strengthening, rebuilding, and sustaining Indian cultures and  communities. Access to these resources, among other things, may help Indian  students and families select a school that will best meet the student’s  academic and non-academic needs, according to Indian education  experts we interviewed. Nearly all of these districts were located in rural areas  and, as we reported, have few school options. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

This report examines the public school choice options located in areas  with large populations of American Indian and Alaska Native students,  collectively referred to as Indian students. To conduct this work, we analyzed the Department of Education’s  (Education) national data on K-12 public schools from the Common Core  of Data (CCD) for school year 2015-16 (the most recent available). However, in  our analysis we found one school district with a high percentage of Indian  students that did not offer any traditional, charter, magnet, career and  technical education, or Bureau of Indian Education schools, and one  school district that offered one magnet school, but no other schools. Appendix II: Additional Maps

This appendix contains maps of selected regions of the country to provide  a more in-depth view of the school choice options available in school  districts in which American Indian and Alaska Native students accounted  for 25 percent or more of all students in the district.
Why GAO Did This Study

Education refers to school choice as the opportunity for students and their families to create high-quality, personalized paths for learning that best meet the students' needs. For Indian students, school choice can be a means of accessing instructional programs that reflect and preserve their languages, cultures, and histories. For many years, studies have shown that Indian students have struggled academically and the nation's K-12 schools have not consistently provided Indian students with high-quality and culturally-relevant educational opportunities.
GAO was asked to review K-12 school choice options for Indian students. This report examines the public school options located in areas with large Indian student populations. GAO used Education's Common Core of Data for school year 2015-16 (most recent available) to analyze public school choice in (1) school districts in which Indian students accounted for 25 percent or more of all students (i.e., high percentages of Indian students) and (2) the 100 school districts with the largest number of Indian students. GAO also interviewed federal officials, relevant stakeholder groups, and tribal leaders to better understand school choice options for Indian students.

What GAO Found

Few areas provide American Indian and Alaska Native students (Indian students) school choice options other than traditional public schools. According to GAO's analysis of 2015-16 Department of Education (Education) data, most of the school districts with Indian student enrollment of at least 25 percent had only traditional public schools (378 of 451 districts, or 84 percent). The remaining 73 districts had at least one choice, such as a Bureau of Indian Education, charter, magnet, or career and technical education school (see figure). Most of these 451 districts were in rural areas near tribal lands. Rural districts may offer few school choice options because, for example, they do not have enough students to justify additional schools or they may face difficulties recruiting and retaining teachers, among other challenges.
Some of the 100 school districts with the largest number of Indian students were located in large urban areas, such as New York City, and the majority (62) offered at least one option other than a traditional public school, according to GAO's analysis. The most common option was a charter school. However, because Indian students often account for a small percentage of all students in these districts, Indian education experts GAO interviewed said that the schools are less likely to have curricula that reflect Indian students' cultural identity or provide instruction on Native languages—things that tribes and experts consider crucial to strengthening, rebuilding, and sustaining Indian cultures and communities. Also, even when Indian students had more options, no consistent enrollment patterns were evident. Whether Indian students enrolled in different types of schools could be a function, in part, of differences in state school choice laws and the extent to which these schools offered curricula that reflect Indian languages, cultures, or histories, according to Indian education experts.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is not making recommendations in this report.