21-4-601. Education programs on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

(a) The legislature finds that, through education programs provided by the Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho Indian Tribes to school age Indian children residing on the Wind River Indian Reservation, the state can address conditions of unemployment, poverty and lack of adequate job skills which exist on the reservation. Maintenance of these education programs unique to Indian students is of mutual benefit to the tribes and the state, reducing future financial needs of those students as tribal members and as Wyoming residents for public education, job services, substance abuse services and income supplements.

(b) Subject to amounts appropriated by the legislature, the state superintendent of public instruction shall enter into negotiations with the individual or joint business councils of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Indian Tribes to determine the appropriate contractual arrangements for the provision of education programs and services addressing Indian students at risk of failure in school and other programs and services essential to the success and welfare of these students as specified under subsection (a) of this section. Contractual arrangements entered into under this subsection shall include a requirement that the expenditure of contractual amounts, as verified annually in writing, is for programs tied to improvement of student performance on the statewide assessment. For purposes of this section, the state superintendent shall include an amount within his biennial budget request which is computed in accordance with subsection (c) of this section to provide a per student amount that when nonstate funding sources are considered, is comparable to per student amounts provided for public schools under the Wyoming education resource block grant model.

(c) To arrive at a biennial funding amount for purposes of subsection (b) of this section, an estimate shall be computed as follows:

(i) Determine a combined average per student funding level under the Wyoming education resource block grant model for Fremont County school districts number fourteen (14), number twenty-one (21) and number thirty-eight (38);

(ii) Multiply the per student amount determined under paragraph (i) of this subsection by the number of students enrolled in education programs and services provided by the joint business council pursuant to subsection (a) of this section;

(iii) Subtract from the amount computed under paragraph (ii) of this subsection all Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs funds for K-12 programs received by the joint business council for education programs and services provided under subsection (a) of this section.

(d) The joint business council of the Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho Indian Tribes shall annually report to the governor and the state superintendent of public instruction on the expenditure of contractual amounts as required under subsection (b) of this section.