Full Breakdown
Graduation Gains at BIE Schools: Data Reforms, Career Training, and Tribal Concerns
7/12/2026, 9:31:55 PM
Graduation Gains Linked to New Reporting Standards
The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) reported that four-year graduation rates rose from just over half of students in 2015 to a record 79 % in 2025. Agency officials attribute much of the increase to standardized data-collection methods introduced in 2018, which eliminated the practice of counting transferred students as dropouts. An analysis by the Associated Press found a 55 % jump in graduation rates since the new standards were applied, with nine secondary schools reporting 100 % growth or higher.
Career-Technical Programs Boost Student Engagement
Several tribal-run BIE schools have added career and technical curricula that align with local employment opportunities. Chief Leschi Schools launched such a program in 2020 with funding from the Puyallup Tribal Council; its four-year graduation rate climbed from 53 % in 2019 to 87 % in 2025. Superintendent Don Brummett said the school had previously “devalued the trades” and that the new focus has kept at-risk students in school for health-sciences, education, and fisheries-management pathways. At Choctaw Central High School, a virtual-learning experiment during the COVID-19 pandemic helped raise graduation rates from roughly 70 % to 93 % by offering flexible schedules for students with home responsibilities.
Tribal Leaders Warn of Policy Turbulence
Tribal officials caution that recent federal actions could reverse recent progress. In November 2025 the U.S. Department of Education began transferring oversight of dozens of Native-education programs to the BIE, prompting tribal leaders at a February consultation in Washington, D.C., to voice opposition over insufficient consultation. Lieutenant Governor Herschel Gorham of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes warned that “the ink was dry on the agreements before the tribes were ever notified.” Peter Lengkeek, chairman of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, described chronic understaffing and deferred-maintenance at his community’s BIE-operated high school, noting graduation rates below 60 % and urging the government to fulfill its treaty promise.
Official Statements & Responses
Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland linked the graduation surge to the Trump administration’s commitment to Native American students and to strengthened teacher-training initiatives. The Department of Education’s 2025 handoff was framed as an effort to consolidate services, though tribal leaders contend the move ignored legal obligations for consultation. Executive director Jason Dropik of the National Indian Education Association highlighted that an executive order aiming to convert the BIE into a school-choice system was scaled back after tribal outcry, causing “delays and disruptions to services.”
Verbatim Quotes
- “It motivates me. I like making connections with the kids, I like helping them,” — Gerald Dillon, recent graduate
- “We had to come to a consensus and set an accountability framework for our schools,” — Carmelia Becenti, chief academic officer, BIE
- “We devalued the trades. That was a mistake,” — Don Brummett, superintendent, Chief Leschi Schools
- “If we were able to, we would step in and try to remedy a lot of these things,” — Peter Lengkeek, chairman, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe
- “We are here too late,” — Herschel Gorham, lieutenant governor, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
- “This system holds the future of our nations in its hands,” — Peter Lengkeek, chairman, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe
