{"data":{"id":"us/25-cfr-273.106","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"25 CFR 273.106","heading":"What key terms do I need to know?","body":"Terms used in this part:\nAcademic year means the period of the year during which students attend an educational institution.\nAppeal means a request for an administrative review of an adverse Agency decision.\nApproving official means the BIE Director, or Agency Superintendents (for Tribes assigned under their management), has the responsibility and duties to review, approve or decline the contract in accordance with the Act.\nAwarding official means any person who by appointment or delegation in accordance with applicable regulations has the authority to enter into and administer contracts on behalf of the United States of America and make determinations and findings with respect thereto. This person can be a contracting officer or other authorized Federal official.\nBIE Director means the Bureau of Indian Education Director or his or her designee.\nBureau or BIE means the Bureau of Indian Education.\nBureau-funded school means a Bureau-operated elementary or secondary day or boarding school; or a Bureau-operated dormitory for students attending a school other than a Bureau school; or a Tribally controlled elementary school, secondary school, or dormitory that receives financial assistance for its operation under a contract, grant, or agreement with the Bureau under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act or the Tribally Controlled Schools Act, as amended.\nCalendar year means the period of 365 days (or 366 days in leap years) starting from January 1.\nCapital outlay means money spent to acquire, maintain, repair, or upgrade capital asset. Capital assets, also known as fixed assets, may include machinery, land, facilities, or other business necessities that are not expended during normal use.\nContract means to transfer the funds in support of the efforts designed to meet the specialized and unique educational needs of Indian students in the Johnson-O'Malley program from the Federal Government to the contractor. Tribes availing themselves of Public Law 93-638, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, may receive funds under Title I contracts or Title IV contracts.\nContracting party means an entity that has a contract through a program authorized under the Johnson-O'Malley Act.\nContractor means any Tribal organization, State, school district, or Indian corporation to which a contract has been awarded.\nDays means calendar days; except where a date specified in these regulations falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a Federal holiday, the period will carry over to the next business day.\nDebt retirement means the act of paying off debt completely to a lender.\nDirector means the Director of the Bureau of Indian Education.\nEconomic enterprise means any commercial, industrial, agricultural, or business activity that is at least 51 percent Indian owned, established or organized for the purpose of profit.\nEducation plan means a comprehensive plan for the programmatic and fiscal services of and accountability by a contractor for the education of eligible Indian students.\nEligible entity means a Tribal organization, State, public school district, or Indian corporation is eligible to request a contract for a supplemental or operational support program under this Act. For purposes of this part, previously private schools are considered Tribal organizations.\nExisting contracting party means a contracting party that has a contract under this Act that is in effect on the date of the JOM Modernization Act (Pub. L. 115-404), enacted December 31, 2018.\nFiscal year means the period used by the Bureau for accounting and budget purposes. The Bureau's fiscal year begins October 1 and ends September 30.\nIndian means a person who is a member of an Indian Tribe.\nIndian Advisory School Board means an Indian advisory school board established pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 5342-5347 prior to January 4, 1975.\nIndian corporation means a legally established organization of Indians chartered under State or Federal law and which is not included within the definition of “Tribal organization”.\nIndian Education Committee means one of the entities specified by § 273.115.\nIndian Tribe means any Indian Tribe, band, nation, rancheria, pueblo, colony or community, including any Alaska Native village or regional or village corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (85 Stat. 688) which is federally recognized as eligible by the U.S. Government through the Secretary for the special programs and services provided by the Secretary to Indians because of their status as Indians.\nInitial contract proposal and contract proposal means a proposal for education contracts under the Johnson-O'Malley Act for the purpose of financially assisting those efforts designed to meet the specialized and unique educational needs of eligible Indian students, including programs supplemental to the regular school program and school operational support, where such support is necessary to maintain established State educational standards.\nJohnson-O'Malley Act means the Act of April 16, 1934 (48 Stat. 596), as amended by the Act of June 4, 1936 (49 Stat. 1458, 25 U.S.C. 452-456), and by the Act of January 4, 1975 (88 Stat. 2203), and further amended by the Johnson-O'Malley Supplemental Indian Education Program Modernization Act (Pub. L. 115-404), enacted December 31, 2018 (JOM Modernization Act).\nLocal Indian Committee means any committee established pursuant to 20 U.S.C. 7424(c)(4), which provides that the committee must be composed of and selected by parents and family members of Indian children; representatives of Indian Tribes on Indian lands located within fifty miles; teachers in the schools; and if appropriate, Indian students attending secondary schools.\nNew contracting party means an entity that enters into a contract under this Act after the date of enactment of the JOM Modernization Act (Pub. L. 115-404), enacted December 31, 2018.\nOperational support means those expenditures for school operational costs in order to meet established State educational standards or Statewide requirements and as specified in § 273.126.\nParent means the lawful father or mother of someone, and may include:\n(1) Either the natural father or the natural mother of a child;\n(2) The adoptive father or adoptive mother of a child;\n(3) A child's putative blood parent who has expressly acknowledged paternity;\n(4) An individual or agency whose status as guardian has been established by judicial decree.\nPreviously private school means a school (other than a Federal school formerly operated by the Bureau) that is operated primarily for Indian students from age 3 years through grades 12; and, which at the time of application is controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by the government body(s) of an Indian Tribe(s).\nPublic school district means a State-funded school district that:\n(1) Serves public elementary schools or public secondary schools; and\n(b) Has established or will establish local committees or is using a committee or Indian advisory school board to approve supplementary or operational support programs beneficial to Indian students.\nReservation or Indian reservation means any Indian Tribe's reservation, pueblo, colony, or rancheria, including former reservations in Oklahoma, Alaska Natives regions established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (85 Stat. 688), and Indian allotments.\nSchool district or local education agency means that subdivision of the State which contains the public elementary and secondary educational institutions providing educational services and is controlled by a duly elected board, commission, or similarly constituted assembly.\nScope of work means a framework document that will outline the work that will be performed under a contract and detail the expectations for the Johnson-O'Malley program.\nSecretary means the Secretary of the Interior.\nSectarian school means a school sponsored or supported, at least in part, by a religious denomination; also commonly known as a parochial school.\nState means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and each of the outlying areas, or any political subdivision of the 50 States.\nSchool official or school administrator means a person employed by the school in an administration, supervisory, academic, or support staff position.\nSupplemental program means a program designed to meet the specialized and unique educational needs of eligible Indian students that may have resulted from socio-economic conditions of the parents, from cultural or language differences or other factors. Programs may also provide academic assistance to Indian students for the improvement of student learning, increase the quality of instruction, and as provided by § 273.143(b).\nSystem of record means a system of record that contains information that is retrieved by an individual name or other unique identifiers.\nTribal government, Tribal governing body and Tribal Council means the recognized governing body of an Indian Tribe.\nTribal organization means the recognized governing body of any Indian Tribe or any legally established organization of Indians or Tribes which is controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by such governing body or bodies, or which is democratically elected by the adult members of the Indian community to be served by such organization and which includes the maximum participation of Indians in all phases of its activities; provided that in any case where a contract is let to an organization to perform services benefitting more than one Indian Tribe, the approval of each such Indian Tribe shall be a prerequisite to the letting of the contract.","path":["Title 25—Indians","CHAPTER I—BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR","SUBCHAPTER M—INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION AND EDUCATION ASSISTANCE ACT PROGRAM","PART 273—EDUCATION CONTRACTS UNDER JOHNSON-O'MALLEY ACT","Subpart A—General Provisions and Definitions"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-25.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:24:59Z","sha256":"411934fdc38ea671bb8adb6bb3c45a90849e00641cd26a3ccce82e94a66449a7","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/25-cfr-273.105","next":"us/25-cfr-273.110"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}