Bureau of Indian Education: Information on Efforts to Count Students for an Educational Services Program. Q&A Report to Congressional Committees. GAO-24-106844

The Johnson-O'Malley (JOM) program provides academic and cultural supports to meet the specialized and unique educational needs of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students enrolled in public schools and select tribal schools. The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), within the Department of the Interior, contracts with Tribes, tribal organizations, states, public school districts and others who provide JOM services to eligible students. Since 1995, BIE has relied on the same count of eligible students who received services that year to determine its budget allocation for the program, according to agency officials. In 2018, Congress passed the Johnson-O'Malley Supplemental Indian Education Program Modernization Act (the JOM Modernization Act or the act) to update and modernize the program. The act includes provisions for BIE to conduct and report on two student counts: a one-time count to estimate the number of AI/AN students potentially eligible for JOM program services and a separate, reoccurring annual count of students currently receiving services. In addition, the act includes a provision for us to review BIE's process for conducting these student counts. This report includes information on the steps BIE took, or plans to take, to estimate the number of students potentially eligible for JOM services, count students currently receiving services, and distribute JOM funds to contractors based on the number of students they serve.