S97 - State Advisory Council on Indian Education (SL 2015-295)

Overview: S.L. 2015-295 changes the composition of the State Advisory Council on Indian Education (Council) as follows:

• Clarifies that the two higher education appointments preferably be faculty members, one to be appointed by the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina, and one to be appointed by the State Board of Community Colleges.
• Reduces the number of American Indian parents from eight to five, and clarifies that appointed parents must be of students enrolled in the K-12 public schools, including charter schools.
• Increases the number of American Indian K-12 public school educators from two to five and requires one member be a director or coordinator of a Title VII Indian Education program under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The act would define a K-12 educator to include a licensed North Carolina school administrator, classroom teacher, resource teacher, or school counselor.
• Recognizes three new tribes or organizations (Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, Sappony, and Triangle Native American Society) that American Indian members of the Council must be broadly representative of, as well as tribes recognized by the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Members currently serving on the Council will serve out the remainder of their terms. New members will be appointed under the changes set forth in this act when terms expire or vacancies occur. The act also clarifies references to "Indian" as someone who is an "American Indian."

This act became effective October 29, 2015.