§ 38.3 - Definitions.

§ 38.3 Definitions.

As used in this part, the term:

Agency means the current organizational unit of the Bureau, which provides direct services to the governing body or bodies and members of one or more specified Indian Tribes.

Agency school board as defined in section 1139(1), of Pub. L. 95-561, means a body, the members of which are appointed by the school boards of the schools located within such Agency. The number of such members shall be determined by the Director in consultation with the affected tribes. In Agencies serving a single school, the school board of that school shall function as the Agency School Board.

Agency Superintendent for Education (ASE) means the Bureau official in charge of education functions at an Agency Office and to whom the school supervisor(s) and other educators under the Agency's jurisdiction, report.

Area Education Programs Administrator (AEPA) means the Bureau official in charge of an Area Education Office that provides services to off-reservation residential schools, peripheral dormitories or on-reservation BIA funded schools that are not served by an Agency Superintendent for Education. The AEPA may also provide education program services to tribes not having an Agency Superintendent for Education at their agency. The AEPA has no line authority over agency education programs that are under the jurisdiction of an Agency Superintendent for Education.

Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior.

Bureau means the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior.

Consult, as used in this part and provided in section 1131(d)(1) (B) and (C) of Pub. L. 95-561, means providing pertinent information to and being available for discussion with the school board, giving the school board the opportunity to reply and giving due consideration to the school board's response, subject to appeal rights provided in § 38.7 (a), (b) and (c), and § 38.9(e)(3).

Director means the Deputy to the Assistant Secretary/Director - Indian Affairs (Indian Education Programs) in the Bureau.

Discharge means the separation of an employee during the term of the contract.

Education function means the administration and implementation of the Bureau's education programs and activities (including school operations).

Education position, means a position in the Bureau the duties and responsibilities of which:

(a) Are performed on a school term basis principally in a Bureau elementary and secondary school which involve:

(1) Classroom or other instruction or the supervision or direction of classroom or other instruction;

(2) Any activity (other than teaching) that requires academic credits in educational theory and practice equal to the academic credits in educational theory and practice required for a bachelor's degree in education from an accredited institution of higher education; or

(3) Any activity in or related to the field of education notwithstanding that academic credits in educational theory and practice are not a formal requirement for the conduct of such activity; or

(4) Support services at or associated with the site of the school; or

(b) Are performed at the Agency level of the Bureau and involve the implementation of education-related Bureau programs. The position of Agency Superintendent for Education is excluded.

Educator, as defined in section 1131(n)(2) of Pub. L. 95-561 means an individual whose services are required, or who is employed, in an education position as defined in § 38.3.

Employment contract means a signed agreement executed by and between the Bureau and the individual employee hired or converted under this part, that specifies the position title, period of employment, and compensation attached thereto.

Involuntary change in position means the release of an employee from his/her position instigated by a change in program or other occurrence beyond the control of the employee.

Local school board, as used in this part and defined in section 1139(7) of Pub. L. 95-561, means a body chosen in accordance with the laws of the tribe to be served or, in the absence of such laws, the body elected by the parents of the Indian children attending a Bureau-operated school. In schools serving a substantial number of students from different tribes, the members shall be appointed by the governing bodies of the tribes affected and the number of such members shall be determined by the Director in consultation with the affected tribes.

Probationary period means the extension of the appointed process during which a person's character and ability to satisfactorily meet the requirements of the position are reviewed.

School board means an Agency school board or a local school board.

School supervisor means the Bureau official in charge of a Bureau school who reports to an Agency Superintendent for Education. In the case of an off-reservation residential school(s), and, in some cases, peripheral dormitories and on-reservation day schools, the school supervisor shall report to the Area Education Programs Administrator.

School term is that term which begins usually in the last summer or fall and ends in the Spring. It may be interrupted by one or more vacations.