Melanie Stansbury (D-NM)
Indigenous Students Excel through Parity Act of 2026
A Democratic bill with 1 Republican cosponsor · See all 2 cosponsors
Last activity — Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Indigenous Students Excel through Parity Act of 2026 aims to improve the Indian School Equalization Formula for the Bureau of Indian Education. The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the resources required for Bureau-funded schools to recruit and retain high-quality staff. It also mandates a study to identify potential revenue sources to bring these schools into parity with other school systems. Specifically, the Act requires evaluating how to provide sufficient funding for both Bureau-operated and tribally controlled schools. The study must consider factors such as competitive salaries and compensation rates. Finally, a report must be submitted to Congress regarding these findings and recommendations.
Yes· 3 of 5
- Scored +7
Would Native Americans be better off under this?
The bill specifically targets improved resource allocation and salary parity for Indian schools and tribally controlled institutions.
- Scored +6
Does this narrow racial gaps in how people are treated?
The bill seeks to achieve funding and salary parity for Bureau-funded schools serving Native American communities.
- Scored +5
Would students be better off under this?
The bill aims to ensure students in Bureau-funded schools receive a high-quality education through better staff recruitment and retention.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Improved Staff Recruitment and Retention: The study aims to identify the resources needed to provide competitive salaries and benefits to recruit and retain high-quality teachers, administrators, and school staff (Section 2, Purpose 1).
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Increased Educational Quality: The bill seeks to determine the funding and resources necessary to ensure that students attending Bureau-funded schools receive a high-quality education (Section 2, Purpose 2).
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Salary Parity: The Act directs a study toward bringing Bureau of Indian Education funding, resources, and salaries into parity with other school systems (Section 2, Purpose 3).
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Competitive Compensation Rates: The study considers updating the formula to ensure salaries for teachers, principals, and all school staff are commensurate with salaries at non-Bureau-funded schools or Department of Defense overseas teacher rates (Section 4, a, 2, B and 3, A).
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Support for Specific School Types: The formula update will consider specific weights or ratios for tribally controlled schools, schools with fewer than 100 students, and schools located in rural areas (Section 4, a, 3, B).
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Direct Funding for Specific Institutions: The Act ensures that Havasupai Elementary School is awarded an additional cost factor of 12.5 Weighted Student Unit in an updated formula (Section 4, a, 3, C).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No specific negative impacts or burdens are explicitly stated in the provided text.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would Native Americans be better off under this? — The bill specifically targets improved resource allocation and salary parity for Indian schools and tribally controlled institutions. Would students be better off under this? — The bill aims to ensure students in Bureau-funded schools receive a high-quality education through better staff recruitment and retention. Would people in rural areas be better off under this? — The bill directs the study to consider specific weights or ratios for schools located in rural areas.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Does this narrow racial gaps in how people are treated? — The bill seeks to achieve funding and salary parity for Bureau-funded schools serving Native American communities.
- Education And Technology
- Does this put more money into public schools? — The bill directs a study to identify revenue sources and updates a formula to ensure sufficient funding for Bureau-funded and tribally controlled schools.
- 8/20/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 7/23/2026
- Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in House
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Michael GuestRepublican · Mississippi
Gabe VasquezDemocrat · New Mexico