RAPID CITY, S.D. ñ The reorganization of the Office of Indian Education Programs in the Plains region will be delayed until court procedures have taken place.
The OIEP plan was to remove six education line officers and replace them with three that would be located in two offices in South Dakota and one in North Dakota.
The tribal leaders of the Plains region opposed that plan and prepared a legal strategy that asks the federal court for a temporary restraining order.
The federal government and the tribes have now agreed there is no immediate need for the restraining order because the defendants ñ the Department of Interior, BIA and the education office ñ agreed to delay any action on the reorganization until July 14. The delay will allow time for briefs and a hearing to take place in federal court.
Personnel will not be hired, but the interview process may continue. Some personnel have been given Reduction in Force notices, but according to the federal officials those do not become effective before Aug. 1 for the education line officers and Aug. 14 for the support staff.
The government will not be allowed to extend any offers of employment or enter into any lease agreements until after July 14.
Congressional action has caused the need for a reduction in force for some special education coordinators and field education specialists; the notices have already been issued. The funds have been redirected to the Local Education Agency and the RIF notices are separate from the reorganization of the OIEP. They would take place without the reorganization.
Part of the original complaint against Interior was to ask for a preliminary injunction. The government was to have filed their briefs on June 23 to respond to the injunction. A hearing date of July 7 was set in federal court to address the preliminary injunction.
Plains tribal leaders have complained that proper consultation did not take place before the reorganization plan was agreed to by Interior. The removal of local, on-site line officers was one of the major complaints of the tribal leaders.
The three officers, who will replace six line officers, will be located in areas that may be hundreds of miles away from the schools that will be affected.
James Cason, deputy assistant secretary of Interior, said that the move is to upgrade the technical skills of the officers to better support the schools. He cited the fact that some schools in the Plains did not have good track records with the Adequate Yearly Progress reports and that more technical assistance for the schools could possibly improve that record and benefit the students.
The three line officers would be higher-grade personnel, and support staff would also be more equipped to offer support to the staff of each school. Cason said the same number of personnel would be employed, but that the secretarial staff would be replaced with people who could work in a technical capacity.
The Great Plains Tribal Leaders Association continues to argue the reorganization will cost too much, approximately $11 million more than the present plan, and that any additional money should be spent at the school level. Some tribal schools have had to reduce staff in order to survive financially.
Cason said the money that would be needed for the reorganization does not come out of program funds.
RAPID CITY, S.D. ñ The reorganization of the Office of Indian Education Programs in the Plains region will be delayed until court procedures have taken place.The OIEP plan was to remove six education line officers and replace them with three that would be located in two offices in South Dakota and one in North Dakota.The tribal leaders of the Plains region opposed that plan and prepared a legal strategy that asks the federal court for a temporary restraining order.The federal government and the tribes have now agreed there is no immediate need for the restraining order because the defendants ñ the Department of Interior, BIA and the education office ñ agreed to delay any action on the reorganization until July 14. The delay will allow time for briefs and a hearing to take place in federal court.Personnel will not be hired, but the interview process may continue. Some personnel have been given Reduction in Force notices, but according to the federal officials those do not become effective before Aug. 1 for the education line officers and Aug. 14 for the support staff.The government will not be allowed to extend any offers of employment or enter into any lease agreements until after July 14.Congressional action has caused the need for a reduction in force for some special education coordinators and field education specialists; the notices have already been issued. The funds have been redirected to the Local Education Agency and the RIF notices are separate from the reorganization of the OIEP. They would take place without the reorganization.Part of the original complaint against Interior was to ask for a preliminary injunction. The government was to have filed their briefs on June 23 to respond to the injunction. A hearing date of July 7 was set in federal court to address the preliminary injunction. Plains tribal leaders have complained that proper consultation did not take place before the reorganization plan was agreed to by Interior. The removal of local, on-site line officers was one of the major complaints of the tribal leaders.The three officers, who will replace six line officers, will be located in areas that may be hundreds of miles away from the schools that will be affected.James Cason, deputy assistant secretary of Interior, said that the move is to upgrade the technical skills of the officers to better support the schools. He cited the fact that some schools in the Plains did not have good track records with the Adequate Yearly Progress reports and that more technical assistance for the schools could possibly improve that record and benefit the students.The three line officers would be higher-grade personnel, and support staff would also be more equipped to offer support to the staff of each school. Cason said the same number of personnel would be employed, but that the secretarial staff would be replaced with people who could work in a technical capacity.The Great Plains Tribal Leaders Association continues to argue the reorganization will cost too much, approximately $11 million more than the present plan, and that any additional money should be spent at the school level. Some tribal schools have had to reduce staff in order to survive financially.Cason said the money that would be needed for the reorganization does not come out of program funds.
